/unstuck — The roadblock antidote

/unstuck — The roadblock antidote

Turns "impossible" into angles. Classifies the wall, runs the right lateral-thinking techniques against it, and doesn't stop at the first mediocre workaround. Output is either a set of viable angles with next actions — or an honest "this wall is load-bearing, reroute the goal."

Two modes:

• User-invoked — someone is stuck and asks. Full 7-step workflow below.
• Agent fast path — YOU (the agent) hit the wall mid-task. See Agent fast path — run it before telling the user something can't be done.

The mental model: walls have types, and the type picks the crowbar

"Impossible" is a claim, not a fact. It almost always decompiles into something weaker: expensive, against the rules, nobody's done it, I don't know how. Only actually impossible (physics, math, arithmetic) ends the session — and it ends it honestly.

Step 1 — Capture the wall

Get from the user (one structured message, don't round-trip):

• The goal — what are you ultimately trying to do? (Not the blocked step — the job it serves.)
• The wall — what exactly blocks it?
• Attempts — what have you already tried?
• The source of the no — who or what said no? Physics? A vendor's docs? A person? An error message? Your own assumption?
• Stakes + deadline — how much does breaking this wall matter, by when?

If the user says "I've tried everything," ask for the list. "Everything" is usually 2–3 things.

Step 2 — Classify the wall

Use the taxonomy above. State the classification and why. Two rules:

1. Decompile the word "impossible." Restate the wall without it: "expensive," "undocumented," "they refused," "I don't know how." The restatement usually names the wall type.
2. Restate the problem at two altitudes before proceeding — one level more abstract (what job is this serving?) and one level more concrete (what literally fails, at which exact step?). Many walls dissolve at a different altitude; if one does, say so and skip to Step 6.