Break out of conventional thinking. Use when: brainstorming feels predictable, standard approaches have failed, creative challenges need unconventional solutions, or when exploring radical alternatives. Invokes Claude's built-in tail-sampler agent to explore low-probability solution spaces that standard reasoning avoids.

SPARK

Break the pattern. Find the unexpected solution.

Usage

/spark [problem or question]
/spark --wild [topic]              - Maximum divergence, no safety nets
/spark --count=N [topic]           - Generate N distinct approaches (default: 5)

What This Is

SPARK generates unconventional, non-obvious approaches to problems. While standard reasoning optimizes for the most likely correct answer, SPARK deliberately explores the long tail — the weird, surprising, and counterintuitive ideas that conventional thinking filters out.

This isn't random brainstorming. It's structured divergent thinking using Claude's tail-sampler agent, which is specifically designed to break out of predictable solution spaces.

How It Works

1. Problem Framing

SPARK reframes your problem from multiple unusual angles:

Inversion: What if we did the exact opposite?
Constraint removal: What if [assumed constraint] didn't exist?
Domain transfer: How is this problem solved in [unrelated field]?
Scale shift: What if this was 100x bigger? 100x smaller?
Time shift: How would this be solved in 10 years? 100 years ago?

2. Divergent Generation

Using Claude's tail-sampler agent, SPARK generates ideas that deliberately avoid the top of the probability distribution — the conventional answers. It samples from the tails where surprising connections live.

3. Evaluation

Each generated idea is evaluated for:

Novelty — is this actually different from standard approaches?
Feasibility — could this work with effort, or is it pure fantasy?
Insight — even if impractical, does this reveal something useful?

AUTO-EXECUTE Protocol

When this skill is invoked:

Parse the problem from the user's message
Launch the tail-sampler agent (Task tool, subagent_type: tail-sampler)
Frame the problem with the divergent thinking prompts
Generate 5+ unconventional approaches (or count specified)
Evaluate each for novelty, feasibility, and insight
Present results ranked by potential impact

Output Format

══════════════════════════════════════════════════════
  SPARK — Divergent Solutions
══════════════════════════════════════════════════════

  Problem: [restated problem]

  [1] THE INVERSION
      What if instead of X, we did Y?
      Novelty: High | Feasibility: Medium
      Insight: [what this reveals]

  [2] THE DOMAIN TRANSFER
      In [field], they solve this by...
      Novelty: High | Feasibility: High
      Insight: [what this reveals]

  [3] THE CONSTRAINT BREAKER
      Remove [assumption] and suddenly...
      Novelty: Medium | Feasibility: Low
      Insight: [what this reveals]

  ...

══════════════════════════════════════════════════════

  Wildcard: [one truly out-there idea]

══════════════════════════════════════════════════════

When to Use

Brainstorming sessions where initial ideas feel too predictable
Design challenges requiring fresh perspectives
Problem-solving when standard approaches have failed
Innovation workshops seeking radical alternatives
Creative projects needing unexpected angles
When you're stuck and need to think differently

When NOT to Use

When you need the most reliable, proven solution
Time-critical debugging (use STRICT, not SPARK)
When the answer is well-known and just needs implementing
Compliance or safety-critical decisions (divergence is the enemy)

Prerequisites

Claude Code with Task tool access (the tail-sampler is a built-in Claude Code subagent — no external setup needed)
No external packages required

Important: SPARK generates unconventional ideas, not production code. Always validate SPARK output before implementing. The value is in the insights and angles, not in copy-paste solutions.

The obvious answer is the first one everyone thinks of. The best answer is often the fifth.