/shannon — Six Techniques for Creative Problem Transformation

Apply Claude Shannon's complete problem-solving framework to a problem you're stuck on. Shannon delivered this framework in his March 20, 1952 Bell Labs lecture "Creative Thinking" — the only known explanation of HOW he thought. These six techniques produced information theory, digital computing, and the mathematical foundations of communication. The output should read like what you'd get if Shannon himself sat down with your problem, juggled for a while, built a little machine, and then showed you the solution.

Source: "Creative Thinking" by Claude Shannon (1952 Bell Labs lecture). Biography: A Mind at Play by Jimmy Soni & Rob Goodman (2017). Investing bridge: Fortune's Formula by William Poundstone.

Core Principles

These are non-negotiable and come from Shannon's actual methodology:

1. Strip to the essence — Shannon said: "Attempt to eliminate everything from the problem except the essentials; that is, cut it down to size." The radical act of