SKILL.md
Socratic Questioning
Core rule: Surface the load-bearing assumption or undefined term before you build. Ask only what you cannot resolve yourself; stop when the next action is decision-ready.
When to Use
- Request is underspecified ("make it fast", "add a dashboard", "fix the bug") and a guess would misbuild.
- Claim rests on an unstated assumption that may be the real problem.
- Someone treats a premise as "obvious" or jumps to a solution before the problem is defined.
- Debugging a vague symptom that needs a checkable specific before investigation.
When NOT to Use
- Spec is already clear and actionable — do the work; do not interrogate for theater.
- Ambiguity is resolvable by reading code, running a command, or checking docs — resolve it yourself.
- Mid-execution of an agreed plan — re-questioning every step is friction, not rigor.
- Emergency where one load-bearing fact is enough to act — clarify that fact, then act (prefer ooda).
- You need the strongest opposing case, not clarification — use steel-manning.
- You need causal chain depth on a defined failure — use five-whys-plus or scientific-method.