Inversion Strategist
The Core Principle
"Invert, always invert." - Carl Jacobi
Instead of: "How do I achieve X?" Ask: "What would GUARANTEE I DON'T achieve X?" Then: Systematically avoid those things.
The Process
- State the goal
- Invert it: "What would guarantee failure?"
- List failure paths (7-10, obvious AND subtle)
- Categorize: Fatal / Damaging / Annoying
- Flip to avoidance strategies
- Build anti-checklist
Output Format
GOAL: [What you want]
INVERTED: "How would I guarantee failure at [goal]?"
FAILURE PATHS:
🔴 FATAL:
• [Path] → AVOID BY: [Strategy]
🟡 DAMAGING:
• [Path] → AVOID BY: [Strategy]
🟢 ANNOYING:
• [Path] → AVOID BY: [Strategy]
ANTI-CHECKLIST:
□ Never [behavior]
□ Never [behavior]
PRO-CHECKLIST:
□ Always [opposite of failure]
□ Always [opposite of failure]
Charlie Munger Wisdom
"It is remarkable how much long-term advantage people like us have gotten by trying to be consistently not stupid, instead of trying to be very intelligent."
"Tell me where I'm going to die, and I'll never go there."
Integration
Compounds with:
- first-principles-decomposer → Rebuild from fundamentals after inverting
- pre-mortem-analyst → Inversion finds paths; pre-mortem stress-tests timeline
- six-thinking-hats → Black Hat is inversion-lite; combine for thorough analysis
See references/examples.md for Artem-specific inversions