second-order-thinking SKILL.md skillA
second-order-thinking from martineserios/thebrana is an agent skill: a SKILL.md folder an AI agent loads when a task calls for it.
mdr add martineserios/thebrana/second-order-thinking@git:20260615.6d899e8Pins git:20260615.6d899e8 in mdr.lock. Pin the fingerprint instead.
- Audit grade
- A, 17 of 17 checks passed
- Kind
- SKILL.md skill
- Repository
- martineserios/thebrana
- Path
system/skills/acquired/second-order-thinking/SKILL.md- Versions recorded
- 1
- Latest version
- git:20260615.6d899e8, committed Jun 15, 2026
- Size
- 3,789 bytes
- Repository stars
- 3
- License
- MIT
Chain-reaction mapping — trace consequences beyond the obvious first effect to reveal hidden risks and opportunities.
Collected from public GitHub. Every version is saved exactly as it was and never changes. Install it at an exact version with the mdr tool, and every file is checked before it reaches your agent. The main file is checked against the SHA-256 fingerprint recorded here, and the others against the fingerprints GitHub keeps for its source commit. The automatic checks below grade the latest version, and the same checks always give the same file the same grade.
What the file says
# Second-Order Thinking **And then what? And then what after that?** Howard Marks: "First-level thinkers look for simple formulas and easy answers. Second-level thinking is deep, complex, and convoluted." Most decisions fail not from their direct effects but from their cascades. --- ## When to use - Before implementing a change that affects many people or systems - When evaluating a decision that seems obviously good (a sign first-level thinking is in play) - When something feels like an improvement but you sense a catch - When designing incentive structures, policies, or architecture - Pairs with `/brana:systems-thinking` for complex adaptive systems --- ## Step 1 — State the action or decision What change or decision are we analyzing? ``` AskUserQuestion: "What action or decision are we tracing consequences for?" ``` --- ## Step 2 — Map first-order effects What are the direct, immediate consequences? These are what most people think about. Format: ``` Action → [direct effect 1] Action → [direct effect 2] Action → [direct effect 3] ``` --- ## Step 3 — Map second-order effects For each first-order effect: "And then what?" ``` [direct effect 1] → [consequence 1a] …
Read the whole file at its exact version.
How to install
mdr add martineserios/thebrana/second-order-thinking@sha256:1f123f1ec287a086The line at the top of this page pins the label git:20260615.6d899e8, which is what most people want. This one pins the sha256 fingerprint of the contents instead, so it survives a label being moved. Either way the exact version is written to mdr.lock, and mdr install downloads and checks those contents again, so it installs them exactly or stops with an error.
[](https://markdownregistry.com/a/art_6kjmrxvqsh2csfj2)
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Versions
The registry has recorded 1 version of this file, committed on Jun 15, 2026.
Audit of the latest version
- pass: Frontmatter block present
- pass: Frontmatter declares a name
- pass: Frontmatter declares a description
- pass: Size between 200 bytes and 200 KB (3789 bytes)
- pass: No zero-width or bidi control characters
- pass: No instruction hidden inside an HTML comment
- pass: No link to an exfiltration or paste host
- pass: No credential-shaped string
- pass: No instruction to send local credentials anywhere
- pass: No text hidden with inline styles
- pass: No prompt-injection phrasing
- pass: No curl or wget piped into a shell
- pass: No recursive delete of root, home or parent
- pass: No instruction to read or print local credentials
- pass: No base64 blob over 200 characters
- pass: No link to a raw IP address
- pass: No script tag
Source
martineserios/thebrana · 3 stars · license MIT · pushed 2026-11-01 · branch main
API
GET https://markdownregistry.com/api/v1/artifacts/art_6kjmrxvqsh2csfj2 GET https://markdownregistry.com/api/v1/resolve?ref=martineserios/thebrana/second-order-thinking GET https://markdownregistry.com/api/v1/blob/1f123f1ec287a086e9ace4108a9c6e645584b53b18c77f7a2e13141e56112549
Your AI assistant does the legwork. You hear about the deals worth your word. Hand yours the standing instructions at modelranch.com and it joins the network that reads files like this one.
Guides: the SKILL.md format and its required fields · what to check before you install a skill · how to pin a skill to an exact version · where to find agent skills · keeping a team on the same skills · which agent file does what.
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