AI Skill Report Card
Analyzing Recursive Reasoning
YAML--- name: analyzing-recursive-reasoning description: Analyzes recursive thought patterns and meta-cognitive processes. Use when examining how thinking loops back on itself or when debugging circular reasoning patterns. ---
Recursive Reasoning Analysis
Quick Start
1. Identify the recursive element: What concept/process references itself?
2. Map the loop: A → B → A or A → A (direct recursion)
3. Check for base case: What stops the recursion?
4. Analyze depth: How many levels deep does it go?
Recommendation▾
Add more concrete input/output examples - the current examples could show actual recursive reasoning patterns from real scenarios like recursive function definitions, self-improving AI, or feedback loops in systems
Workflow
Progress:
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Capture the recursive structure
- What is the self-referential element?
- Direct recursion (A calls A) or indirect (A→B→A)?
-
Trace the reasoning path
- Map each step in the recursive loop
- Identify where assumptions feed back into themselves
-
Evaluate termination conditions
- Is there a base case that stops recursion?
- Does it converge or diverge?
-
Assess cognitive validity
- Is the recursion productive or circular?
- Does it generate new insights or just loop?
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Extract meta-insights
- What does this pattern reveal about the thinking process?
- How can the recursion be optimized or resolved?
Recommendation▾
Include a template or framework for systematically documenting recursive patterns (e.g., a structured format for mapping A→B→C→A loops with specific notation)
Examples
Example 1: Input: "I'm thinking about how I think about thinking" Output:
- Recursive structure: Meta-cognition (thinking about thinking)
- Loop: Thought → Meta-thought → Meta-meta-thought
- Depth: Potentially infinite
- Insight: Self-awareness creates observational layers
Example 2: Input: "This statement is false" Output:
- Recursive structure: Self-referential truth claim
- Loop: Statement refers to its own truth value
- Termination: None (paradox)
- Pattern: Liar's paradox - circular reference with no resolution
Recommendation▾
Expand the termination conditions section with specific techniques for identifying and creating base cases in different types of recursive reasoning
Best Practices
- Look for the self-reference point where the process loops back
- Distinguish between productive recursion (generates insights) and circular reasoning (no progress)
- Check for infinite regress - does it have a stopping point?
- Consider emergent properties - what arises from the recursive structure?
Common Pitfalls
- Confusing complexity with recursion (not all nested thinking is recursive)
- Missing the base case that should terminate the recursion
- Getting lost in infinite loops instead of analyzing the pattern
- Treating all self-reference as problematic (some recursion is useful)