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The optional-skills copy was still the v1.0.0 constraint-dispatch skill (SKILL.md + full-prompt-library.md only). This brings it up to the current tool: a situation-routed library of 22 named ideation methods drawn from working artists, scientists, designers, and writers. SKILL.md becomes a 4-step router (extract PHASE/DOMAIN/SPECIFICITY signals → apply overrides → route phase-then-domain → resolve ambiguity), with anti-slop operating rules and an anti-default check. Adds: - 22 method files under references/methods/ — oblique-strategies (Eno/Schmidt), oulipo, scamper, lateral-provocations (de Bono), triz (Altshuller), leverage-points (Meadows), pattern-languages (Alexander), compression-progress (Schmidhuber), analogy-and-blending, pataphysics, first-principles, polya, biomimicry, volume-generation, creative-discipline, premortem-and-inversion, defamiliarization, derive-and-mapping, affinity-diagrams, jobs-to-be-done, story-skeletons, chance-and-remix. Each: when/when-not, the actual cards/principles/operators, a procedure, a worked example, anti-slop notes. - references/method-catalog.md (index + when-to-use), heuristics.md (extended decision tree), anti-slop.md (rules applied to every output), exercises.md (time-boxed exercises). - full-prompt-library.md restructured into domain-affinity sections (general / software / physical / social / lists) so the no-direction default isn't developer-biased. Frontmatter: name aligned to directory slug (creative-ideation, folding in the fix from #18084); version 2.0.0→2.1.0; platforms field preserved. Original wttdotm-derived constraint dispatch is kept as the default path. Supersedes #19295 (which targeted the pre-move skills/ path). Co-authored-by: SHL0MS <SHL0MS@users.noreply.github.com>
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Biomimicry
Janine Benyus, Biomimicry (1997). Evolution has 3.8 billion years of R&D on most physical design problems. Use biological strategies as a library of mechanisms — adapt the operative principle, not the metaphor.
When to use
- Physical design problems with parallels in evolved organisms (locomotion, sensing, adhesion, structure, energy capture, water management, thermal regulation, distribution)
- Materials science problems
- Distributed-systems problems with biological precedents (slime molds, ant colonies, immune systems)
- Sustainability or material-efficiency constraints
Don't use when
- Software, social, or expressive problems where biological analogy = decoration. "Like a colony" applied to a startup is slop.
- Looking for "natural" answers to normative questions (nature is amoral)
- The biological mechanism isn't actually understood (you need the mechanism, not the headline)
- Manufacturing context can't match biology's ambient-temperature water-based assembly
Catalog of strong precedents
Velcro ← burrs (Arctium). Many small barbed mechanical hooks. Operative principle: many small interlocks, not one strong glue.
Shinkansen 500-series train nose ← kingfisher beak. Tapered shape allows dive from air to water with minimal splash. Operative principle: gradient-density transition reduces shock at medium-to-fluid interfaces.
Lotus effect ← Nelumbo leaves. Self-cleaning via micro-structured wax. Operative principle: hierarchical micro/nanostructure + low-energy surface = superhydrophobicity.
Gecko adhesive ← gecko foot pads. Millions of setae adhering via van der Waals forces. Operative principle: many small contact points + flexible substrate = strong reversible adhesion.
Termite mound HVAC ← Macrotermes mounds maintain near-constant interior temperature in fluctuating Sahel conditions via passive convection. Mick Pearce's Eastgate Centre, Harare, 1996. Operative principle: passive convection through engineered geometry.
Whale-fin tubercles ← humpback flipper bumpy leading edges delay stall, reduce drag. Wind-turbine blades, WhalePower. Operative principle: leading-edge perturbation alters boundary-layer behavior.
Slime-mold pathfinding ← Physarum polycephalum solves shortest-path. Tero et al., Science 2010, recreated Tokyo rail network. Operative principle: distributed reinforcement of high-flux paths, dissolution of unused ones.
Sharkskin antimicrobial ← microscopic ribbed denticles prevent bacterial colonization. Sharklet hospital surfaces. Operative principle: surface microtopology disrupts colonization.
Spider silk ← Nephila, Araneus. Specific strength higher than steel; toughness higher than Kevlar. Spiber, Bolt Threads. Operative principle: hierarchical protein assembly under shear-flow control.
Mussel adhesive ← Mytilus DOPA-rich proteins stick to wet rocks. Surgical adhesives. Operative principle: catechol chemistry remains effective in water.
Mycelial structure ← fungus binds particles into rigid forms. Ecovative MycoComposite packaging. Operative principle: cellulose-bonding via biological agents → biodegradable rigid structure.
Procedure
- State the problem as a function. "I need to attach this reversibly, holding 50 kg." "I need to extract water from desert air." "I need to route packets without central coordination."
- Look up biological strategies. AskNature.org is the curated database, indexed by function.
- Identify the operative principle. Compress the strategy to its mechanism. Not "geckos can stick to walls" — "many small van der Waals contacts via flexible setae provide strong reversible adhesion."
- Match to your problem. Be honest about what's missing — biological systems often work because of context (water, ambient temperature) your engineering context lacks.
- Prototype with the principle, not the metaphor. Don't build a "robot gecko." Build something that uses the operative principle in your form factor and material set.
Anti-slop notes
- "[X] inspired by nature" without specifics = marketing. Real biomimicry names the organism, the mechanism, and the operative principle.
- Avoid "like a colony / swarm / ecosystem" for non-physical problems. Slop magnet.
- Don't assume "natural" = "good". Parasitism, deception, exploitation are well-engineered.
- Resist the spiritual register. Biomimicry is engineering; the slop variant is greeting-card.
Source: Benyus, Biomimicry (Morrow, 1997). AskNature.org.