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skills/problem-solving/collision-zone-thinking/SKILL.md

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+---
+name: Collision-Zone Thinking
+description: Force unrelated concepts together to discover emergent properties - "What if we treated X like Y?"
+when_to_use: when conventional approaches feel inadequate and you need breakthrough innovation by forcing unrelated concepts together
+version: 1.1.0
+---
+
+# Collision-Zone Thinking
+
+## Overview
+
+Revolutionary insights come from forcing unrelated concepts to collide. Treat X like Y and see what emerges.
+
+**Core principle:** Deliberate metaphor-mixing generates novel solutions.
+
+## Quick Reference
+
+| Stuck On | Try Treating As | Might Discover |
+|----------|-----------------|----------------|
+| Code organization | DNA/genetics | Mutation testing, evolutionary algorithms |
+| Service architecture | Lego bricks | Composable microservices, plug-and-play |
+| Data management | Water flow | Streaming, data lakes, flow-based systems |
+| Request handling | Postal mail | Message queues, async processing |
+| Error handling | Circuit breakers | Fault isolation, graceful degradation |
+
+## Process
+
+1. **Pick two unrelated concepts** from different domains
+2. **Force combination**: "What if we treated [A] like [B]?"
+3. **Explore emergent properties**: What new capabilities appear?
+4. **Test boundaries**: Where does the metaphor break?
+5. **Extract insight**: What did we learn?
+
+## Example Collision
+
+**Problem:** Complex distributed system with cascading failures
+
+**Collision:** "What if we treated services like electrical circuits?"
+
+**Emergent properties:**
+- Circuit breakers (disconnect on overload)
+- Fuses (one-time failure protection)
+- Ground faults (error isolation)
+- Load balancing (current distribution)
+
+**Where it works:** Preventing cascade failures
+**Where it breaks:** Circuits don't have retry logic
+**Insight gained:** Failure isolation patterns from electrical engineering
+
+## Red Flags You Need This
+
+- "I've tried everything in this domain"
+- Solutions feel incremental, not breakthrough
+- Stuck in conventional thinking
+- Need innovation, not optimization
+
+## Remember
+
+- Wild combinations often yield best insights
+- Test metaphor boundaries rigorously
+- Document even failed collisions (they teach)
+- Best source domains: physics, biology, economics, psychology