RubberDuck

Try to explain your problem to a rubber duck, and the process of formulating the explanation will lead you to possible solutions. [1]

This is one of the best uses of AI chat. I use it to explore and refine ideas, along with SocraticMode, as the process of talking it through helps me find areas I haven't explored, or challenges my assumptions.

Some people like to explicitly add "challenge my assumptions" to their initial prompt for this kind of thing, though I haven't yet found the need to.

  1. Hunt, Andrew; Thomas, David (1999). The Pragmatic Programmer: From Journeyman to Master. Addison Wesley. ISBN 978-0201616224. p. 95, footnote. ↩︎