---
slug: "GeneralProblemSolvingProtocol"
name: "GeneralProblemSolvingProtocol"
type: "Strategy"
layer: "Mind"
ref: "GeneralProblemSolvingProtocol#7ad4"
sema_id: "sema:GeneralProblemSolvingProtocol#mh:SHA-256:7ad457a8f3c6dd35e024c94c900ce5b0771fdd3adff7cedd660fbefef8ba87ac"
tags: ["Mind","Strategy"]
updated: 2026-11-11
mindscape: "bootstrap"
index_url: https://mindscape.world/scapes/bootstrap.json
url: https://mindscape.world/bootstrap/GeneralProblemSolvingProtocol/
related: ["ConceptualDecomposition","RootSolver","MetaProtocols","EthicalReasoningProtocol","PURE","DiscoveryProtocol","UncertaintyMap"]
---

# GeneralProblemSolvingProtocol

Approach any problem through six dimensions: scope, evidence, constraints, stakeholders, mechanism and dynamics

Layer: Mind · Category: Strategy

## Mechanism

A protocol for problems that no specialized protocol fits, obtained by applying the four-test decomposition ([ConceptualDecomposition](https://mindscape.world/scapes/bootstrap/ConceptualDecomposition.md)) to problem-solving itself. It proposes six dimensions: scope (what is the problem: its boundary, its ambiguities and its addressable sub-problems), evidence (what is known: data, source evaluation, uncertainty), constraints (what limits a solution: resources, physical laws, regulation, ethical boundaries), stakeholders (who is involved: affected parties, competing interests, power, consent), mechanism (how a solution works: causal structure, design, components) and dynamics (how things change over time: feedback, adaptation, degradation, unintended consequences). Each dimension is addressed for the problem at hand. It is what a [RootSolver](https://mindscape.world/scapes/bootstrap/RootSolver.md) uses when no specialized protocol fits; the specialized protocols refine it, as an evaluation protocol deepens scope, a making protocol deepens mechanism, and an ethical protocol deepens where stakeholders meet constraints. The six are a proposal to test, not an established result.

## Invariants

- Each of the six dimensions is addressed for the problem at hand.
- The protocol applies where no specialized protocol fits; where one fits, the problem goes to it.

## Failure modes

- Dimension skipped: a problem is solved without its scope, constraints or stakeholders being stated, and the solution fails on what was left out.
- Checklist reading: the six are filled in as headings without shaping the solution.
- General where specific fits: the general protocol is used although a specialized protocol fits the problem and would go deeper.

## Builds on

- [ConceptualDecomposition](https://mindscape.world/scapes/bootstrap/ConceptualDecomposition.md) (Mind; References)
- [RootSolver](https://mindscape.world/scapes/bootstrap/RootSolver.md) (Mind; References)

## Used by

—

## Identity

- Sema ID: `sema:GeneralProblemSolvingProtocol#mh:SHA-256:7ad457a8f3c6dd35e024c94c900ce5b0771fdd3adff7cedd660fbefef8ba87ac`
- Ref: `GeneralProblemSolvingProtocol#7ad4`
- Supersedes:
  - `sema:GeneralProblemSolvingProtocol#mh:SHA-256:43518550b3b0381b9ce0b95bcb5caa553cec22a604173677ef358c7f71024b16`

## Links

- [Pattern page](https://mindscape.world/bootstrap/GeneralProblemSolvingProtocol/)
- [View in the interactive graph](https://mindscape.world/bootstrap/#GeneralProblemSolvingProtocol)
- [JSON](https://mindscape.world/scapes/bootstrap/GeneralProblemSolvingProtocol.json)
- [Index of all patterns](https://mindscape.world/scapes/bootstrap.json)