vc-problem-solving

Match your symptom to a technique: use Simplification Cascades for growing special cases, Collision-Zone Thinking when conventional solutions fail, or the Scale Game when production behavior is unclear. The dispatch table maps each stuck-type to the right method.

Simplification Cascades find one insight that eliminates multiple components, treating many special cases as instances of one general pattern. It applies when the same thing is implemented five or more ways or special-case handling keeps growing.

Use inversion when a solution feels forced or you hear 'there's only one way to do this.' Flip core assumptions systematically and test which inversions are valid in some context, revealing hidden constraints and alternatives.

Yes, the skill documents proven combinations such as Simplification plus Meta-pattern Recognition, Collision plus Inversion, and Scale plus Simplification. Apply one technique first, then combine if the problem persists.

These techniques address conceptual stuck-ness, not broken code. For failing tests or wrong behavior, use systematic debugging instead. If no technique helps, reframe the problem, simplify scope, or question whether constraints are real.