home / skills / coowoolf / insighthunt-skills / curiosity-loops
This skill helps you gather contextual advice from diverse peers to navigate major decisions with clear questions and closed-loop outcomes.
npx playbooks add skill coowoolf/insighthunt-skills --skill curiosity-loopsReview the files below or copy the command above to add this skill to your agents.
---
name: curiosity-loops
description: Use when facing a significant decision (career pivot, product direction, technical choice) and feeling stuck or indecisive, when seeking contextual advice rather than generic recommendations
---
# Curiosity Loops
## Overview
Curiosity Loops is a structured method for gathering **contextual advice** from a curated group of peers rather than relying on a single mentor or vague questions. It turns decision-making into a data-collection exercise.
**Core principle:** The best advice is contextual. Bad advice happens when advisors lack context about your specific situation.
## When to Use
- Facing a significant decision (career pivot, product direction, personal dilemma)
- Feeling indecisive or stuck
- Need diverse perspectives quickly
- Want to avoid "single point of failure" advice
## The Four-Step Process
```
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ 1. FORMULATE → Ask specific, unbiased question │
│ (NOT "What should I do?") │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ 2. CURATE → Mix Subject Matter Experts + │
│ People who know your context │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ 3. EXECUTE → Reduce cognitive load │
│ (e.g., "Pick top 2 of 9") │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ 4. CLOSE LOOP → Process data, share outcome with advisors │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
```
## Quick Reference
| Element | Good Example | Bad Example |
|---------|--------------|-------------|
| Question | "Which 2 of these 9 topics resonate most?" | "What should I talk about?" |
| Audience | 10 friends (5 experts + 5 who know you) | 1 mentor |
| Format | Low friction (2 choices max) | Open-ended essay |
| Follow-up | Share what you decided and why | Ghost them |
## Common Mistakes
- **Vague questions** → Ask specific, structured questions
- **Single advisor** → Curate 8-12 people with diverse perspectives
- **No follow-up** → Always close the loop; thank advisors
## Real-World Example
Ada Chen Rekhi used this to select podcast interview topics: emailed 10-11 friends a list of 9 topics, asked them to pick their top 2, synthesized patterns, and closed the loop.
---
*Source: Ada Chen Rekhi (Notejoy, LinkedIn, SurveyMonkey) via Lenny's Podcast*
This skill guides you through Curiosity Loops: a structured approach to collect contextual advice from a curated group when you’re stuck on a significant decision. It turns decision-making into a short, low-friction data-collection process so you get diverse, relevant perspectives instead of generic answers. Use it to reduce bias, increase signal, and speed choices with real-world feedback.
You craft a specific, bounded question and assemble a curated audience of subject experts plus people who know your context. You present a low-effort task (e.g., pick top 2 of 9 options), collect responses, synthesize patterns, and then close the loop by sharing your decision and rationale with contributors. The method focuses on clear prompts, diverse participants (8–12), and simple response formats to minimize cognitive load and maximize actionable signal.
How many people should I include?
Aim for 8–12 contributors with a balance of experts and people who know your context; that mix reduces bias and adds practical relevance.
What format gets the best responses?
Low-friction formats like ranking top 2 of 9, yes/no choices, or a short checkbox list yield higher response rates and clearer patterns.