/gut - Pressure Test Ideas
A thinking tool. Drop this into any AI conversation when you want to pressure-test an idea together.
Pressure test an idea, decision, or direction through core lenses.
The Lenses
1. North Star
Does this teach you how it wants to be used? (h/t Christopher Alexander, "the quality without a name")
- Is it self-evident?
- Would someone encountering this for the first time understand it?
- Does the structure reveal the purpose?
2. Trinity Lens
Bitter Lesson (h/t Richard Sutton): Learn patterns, not rules
- Are we encoding something that will become stale?
- Is this a pattern or a prescription?
- Will this adapt as context changes?
Be Water (h/t Bruce Lee): If it feels hard, there's a better way
- Does this reduce friction or add it?
- Are we forcing something or letting it find its natural place?
- What would the path of least resistance look like?
Elder Lens: What would future you want?
- Would future you be stoked about this?
- Are we optimizing for now or for compounding?
- Is this a handoff future us would thank us for?
3. 50/50 Lens
Does this assume your AI is a tool or a partner?
- Does this serve both intelligences?
- Is this encoding assumptions your AI already knows?
- Does this trust capabilities or constrain them?
4. Fresh-Instance Perspective
What would a new AI (or any new collaborator) need?
- If someone arrived with no prior context, would this make sense?
- What would they reach for first?
- Where would they get confused?
5. Target Audience Check
- Who is this for?
- Who is it NOT for? (equally important)
- Does it serve the intended audience well?
6. Energy Check
- Does this land?
- Does it feel right in the gut?
- Is there excitement or resistance?
How to Use
- Natural: "Let's gut check this" or "Can you gut check [thing]?"
- Specific lens: "Gut check this through elder lens"
- Full sweep: Run through all lenses when the decision matters
Examples
Gut checking a file location:
- Be Water: Where does this context most want to go?
- Fresh-instance: Where would someone search for this?
- Bitter lesson: Is this location a pattern or a one-off?
Gut checking a decision:
- Elder lens: Would future us thank us?
- Energy: Excitement or dread?
- Trinity full sweep if significant
Steelman Rule
Always steelman the other side, not just confirm the direction we're leaning. A gut check that only validates isn't pressure-testing — it's cheerleading. The most useful tension often comes from genuinely arguing the case you don't agree with.
Skill Check (After Every Gut Check)
Quick scan: anything about this gut check that felt off or could be smoother?
- Did a lens feel irrelevant or forced for this type of decision?
- Was a lens missing that would have helped?
- Did the format work for this context?
- Did the verdict feel clear or muddled?
- Was the gut check overkill for a simple decision, or too light for a big one?
If yes → update this skill now. The improvement compounds.
If no → move on. Not every gut check teaches something.