I’ve gotten much better at brainstorming.
my general strategy is to use a flowchart to model things such that every possible outcome is accounted for, and numerically defining any given problem so I can see what variables to change.
For example, here’s what my process would look like for if the US should launch nukes at North Korea at any given time (from the perspective of the US)
E(value of the US sending nukes)=p(North Korea responds by sending nukes|the US sent nukes)E(value of the world if a nuclear exchange happened.)+p(North Korea doesn’t respond by sending nukes|the US sent nukes)E(value of world if the US sent nukes to North Korea, but North Korea doesn’t respond with nukes)-E(value of the world if nukes aren’t sent (from the perspective of the US at the time of deciding) {here I split it up into potential outcomes, and the value of doing thing A instead of thing B is E(A)-E(B)}
Here, a conclusion could be to try and increase E(value of the world if nukes aren’t sent (from the perspective of the US at the time of deciding) in order to prevent a nuclear exchange, since that’s pretty aligned with many moral perspectives. Making the world better in the case where the US doesn't nuke North Korea is in most people's best interest.
More generally, one could try and increase how much value people ascribe to the world where [said people take the actions you want them to take].
Another similar strategy I’ve been using recently is using certain models of the world that account for every scenario for which the model accounts for every impact my decision could have, or at least be a close approximate.
A doctor might use the model of “everything that effects a certain part of the body has an impact. going through the list of parts of the body, we can develop a list of ways any given issue effects each facet of the body.” This way, all that's left is parts of the body that aren't parts of the body! (And, in 2025, this still doesn't exist.)
This can then be used by the doctor by them going through the list of body parts and imagining what things might cause them not to function normally, thus anticipating much of the potential negative health impacts that might exist in the world.
I’m also pretty good with numbers(I feel comfortable thinking about e^(1/0)), so if you have any questions about math, I’m happy to help!
I also have a lot of applicable advice for legislators, so if you're that, ask me for advice. My email is wesreisen2@gmail.com, just ask & I'll deliver.