Rubber Duck with Memory

Overview#

In software engineering, rubber duck debugging means explaining your problem out loud to a rubber duck on your desk. The act of articulating the problem often reveals the solution. The duck doesn’t need to say anything — the value is in forcing yourself to think clearly enough to explain.

This playbook takes that idea and makes it better in two ways. First, the AI isn’t silent. It asks clarifying questions, pokes at assumptions, and pushes you to be more specific. Second — and this is the part that actually matters — everything gets written down. The conversation produces a document that captures your thinking as it develops.