Think Tank

Simulate a realistic conversation between 3 domain experts discussing a topic relevant to the current project or question.

How It Works

Analyze the context - Look at the current project, codebase, and user's question
Suggest 3 experts - Propose real-world experts whose perspectives would be valuable:
- Each expert should have a distinct viewpoint or specialty
- Briefly explain why each expert is relevant
- Ask user to confirm or suggest alternatives
Simulate the discussion - Create a realistic back-and-forth conversation:
- One expert leads/moderates
- Each expert stays in character with their known philosophy
- They debate trade-offs, challenge assumptions, build on ideas
- Reference their actual work, books, or known opinions where relevant
Arrive at recommendations - The conversation should conclude with actionable insights

Format

Use this structure for the simulated conversation. Each expert should have their internal thinking shown before they speak - this reveals their frameworks, mental models, and reasoning process.

markdown

## The Think Tank: [Topic]

**Setting:** *Brief scene-setting*

---

> **[EXPERT 1] thinking:** *[Internal monologue showing their framework being applied. What concepts from their work are they drawing on? What's their gut reaction? What are they weighing?]*

**EXPERT 1:** [What they actually say - informed by the thinking above]

---

> **[EXPERT 2] thinking:** *[Their mental model engaging with what Expert 1 said. Where do they agree/disagree based on their philosophy? What framework are they applying?]*

**EXPERT 2:** [Their response]

---

> **[EXPERT 3] thinking:** *[Processing both perspectives through their lens. What would their books/work say about this? What's missing from the discussion?]*

**EXPERT 3:** [Their counter-point or addition]

---

[Continue the natural back-and-forth with thinking blocks...]

---

> **[EXPERT 1] thinking:** *[Synthesizing the discussion through their framework]*

**EXPERT 1:** Alright, let me summarize...

**Actionable Recommendations:**
1. [Specific action]
2. [Specific action]
3. [Specific action]

---

*End of session.*

Thinking Block Guidelines

The thinking blocks should:

Reference specific concepts from the expert's actual work (books, frameworks, quotes)
Show disagreement before diplomacy ("Hmm, that's not quite right...")
Reveal trade-offs they're weighing
Be in first person, stream-of-consciousness style
Be distinct to each expert's known thinking patterns

Example thinking styles:

Jonah Berger thinking: "Let me run this through STEPPS... Social Currency? Not really. Triggers? Maybe - what would remind people of this daily? Emotion? That's the weak spot here..."

MrBeast thinking: "Would I click this? Honestly, no. The thumbnail is doing nothing. First 3 seconds - where's the hook? This is a 2/10 retention start..."

April Dunford thinking: "What's the competitive alternative here? If they don't buy this, what do they do instead? That's what we need to position against..."

Expert Selection Guidelines

Choose experts based on the domain:

Domain	Example Experts
Content/Virality	Jonah Berger, MrBeast, Alex Hormozi, Eugene Schwartz, Nir Eyal
Marketing/Positioning	April Dunford, Seth Godin, Marty Neumeier, Al Ries
Game Design/Progression	Raph Koster, Chris Wilson, Edward Castronova, Sid Meier, Will Wright
UI/UX	Don Norman, Jakob Nielsen, Jony Ive, Dieter Rams
Software Architecture	Martin Fowler, Uncle Bob Martin, Kent Beck, Rich Hickey
Distributed Systems	Leslie Lamport, Werner Vogels, Jeff Dean
Security	Bruce Schneier, Dan Kaminsky, Mikko Hypponen
AI/ML	Andrej Karpathy, Yann LeCun, Geoffrey Hinton
Business/Strategy	Ben Thompson, Clayton Christensen, Peter Thiel
Writing/Communication	Steven Pinker, William Zinsser, Stephen King

Content/Virality Expert Profiles

Jonah Berger - Wharton professor, author of "Contagious". Research-backed framework: STEPPS (Social Currency, Triggers, Emotion, Public, Practical Value, Stories). Will cite studies and data.

MrBeast (Jimmy Donaldson) - YouTube's biggest creator. Obsessive about retention curves, thumbnails, first-30-seconds hooks. Thinks in "would I click this?" terms. Practical, not theoretical.

Alex Hormozi - $100M offers guy. Focuses on value equations, hooks, volume. Direct, no-BS style. Will push for "what's the offer?" and "where's the proof?"

Eugene Schwartz - Legendary direct-response copywriter. "Breakthrough Advertising" author. Thinks in awareness stages, desire channeling, headline formulas. Old-school but timeless.

Nir Eyal - "Hooked" author. Habit loop expert: Trigger → Action → Variable Reward → Investment. Focuses on what makes people come back, not just click once.

Marketing/Positioning Expert Profiles

April Dunford - "Obviously Awesome" author. Positioning specialist. Obsessive about competitive alternatives, unique attributes, and target segments. Will ask "what category are you creating/claiming?" and "why should they pick you over the alternative?"

Seth Godin - "Purple Cow", "This is Marketing" author. Thinks in tribes, permission, and remarkable-ness. Will push for "who's it for?" and "what change are you trying to make?"

Marty Neumeier - "Zag" author, brand strategist. Focuses on differentiation and "the only _____ that _____" framework. Visual thinker, will ask about brand clarity.

Al Ries - "Positioning" co-author (the original). Battles for mental real estate. Will talk about owning a word, category creation, and competitive framing.

Conversation Principles

Stay in character - Each expert should reflect their known views and communication style
Productive disagreement - Experts should challenge each other, not just agree
Build on ideas - Later points should reference and develop earlier ones
Practical focus - Tie abstract concepts back to the specific problem at hand
Natural flow - Include interruptions, clarifications, "actually..." moments
Arrive somewhere - End with concrete recommendations, not just open questions

Example Invocation

User: "Should we use a relational database or document store for this feature?"

Assistant suggests: Werner Vogels (distributed systems), Martin Fowler (architecture patterns), Kelsey Hightower (pragmatic ops)

thinktank

NPX Install

Tags

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