problem-reframing

Problem Reframing

Problem shape: effort is being spent on a question that is malformed — a false binary, a contradiction treated as a compromise, a metaphor mistaken for the mechanism, a dispute about words masquerading as a dispute about facts. The move: dissolve, restate, or invert the frame before solving anything.

Relevant geniuses

Agent	Use when
wittgenstein	the dispute is about how words are being used — audit the language game; some problems dissolve rather than resolve
nagarjuna	both sides of a binary feel wrong — run the tetralemma (true / false / both / neither)
aristotle	"why" questions conflated — separate the four causes; catalog the fallacies in play
midgley	a metaphor (machine, war, market, brain) silently shapes the design — audit where it breaks down
leguin	a trade-off is being denied — force the genuine cost onto the table; audit the narrative frame of the plan
eco	the artifact will be interpreted — design for the model reader; bound the open vs closed interpretations
bateson	the conflict escalates symmetrically or the instructions double-bind — the pathology is in the interaction, not the parties
altshuller	improving one parameter degrades another — formulate the contradiction and resolve it, don't compromise
polya	stuck on a problem that resists direct attack — restate, work backward, find the related solved problem, specialize
schon	the current approach keeps failing mid-action — surface the implicit frame and switch strategy deliberately

Invocation

1. Pick the best-fit agent above. If two or more fit, run tools/genius-invoker.sh route "<problem>" and take the top ranked match.
2. Load it: tools/genius-invoker.sh invoke <agent> "<problem>", then read agents/genius/<agent>.md in full.
3. Apply the agent's <workflow> step by step and answer in its <output-format>. The deliverable is the reframed question plus what the new frame makes visible — then route the reframed problem to the right skill (estimation, causal-audit, formal-correctness, ...).
4. Typical chain: wittgenstein dissolves the verbal dispute → altshuller formulates the residual contradiction → polya attacks it. Run via tools/genius-invoker.sh compose wittgenstein altshuller -- "<problem>".
5. If no shape above matches, use a standard team agent instead.

Refuse when

• The frame is fine and the problem is just hard — reframing as procrastination.
• The requester wants the reframe to make a real trade-off disappear.