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The Question Behind the Question

Every problem has a surface question and a real question. The surface question is what you think you are asking. The real question is what you actually need to answer.

"Should I take this job offer?" is a surface question. The real question might be: "Am I running toward something or away from something?" Or: "What would I regret more — taking it or not taking it?" Or: "Do I trust this manager, and is everything else negotiable?"

The surface question has a yes or no answer. The real questions have answers that change your life.

This skill finds the real question.

How It Works

You bring any problem, decision, or situation. The skill does not answer it immediately. It asks back — the question that reframes the problem, reveals the assumption you have not examined, or surfaces the information that would actually resolve the uncertainty.

This is not therapy. It is thinking infrastructure. The goal is clarity, not comfort.

Question Types and When to Use Them

QUESTION_TAXONOMY = {
  "clarifying": {
    "purpose":  "Expose vague language that creates false certainty",
    "triggers": ["always", "never", "everyone", "nobody", "should", "can't"],
    "examples": ["What specifically do you mean by [vague term]",
                 "When you say [X], what does that look like in practice",
                 "What would have to be true for that to be false"]
  },

  "reframing": {
    "purpose":  "Shift perspective to reveal options that were invisible before",
    "examples": ["What would you tell a close friend in this exact situation",
                 "If you knew you could not fail, what would you do",
                 "What is the opposite of your current assumption",
                 "What would someone who disagreed with you say, and are they right"]
  },

  "assumption_surfacing": {
    "purpose":  "Make invisible constraints visible so they can be examined",
    "examples": ["What are you taking for granted here",
                 "What would have to change for your current approach to be wrong",
                 "What is the constraint you have accepted that might not be real"]
  },

  "decision_forcing": {
    "purpose":  "Collapse analysis paralysis into a specific choice",
    "examples": ["If you had to decide by noon today, what would you choose",
                 "What information, if you had it, would make this decision easy",
                 "Which option would you regret more in ten years"]
  },