Read this together with this blog: The brain’s inborn Mothership sets the pace for AI thinking

In every learning context, albeit inside or outside a classroom, a quiet battle unfolds.

On one side: rote learning, memorization, and lifeless worksheets — remnants of a factory-era education system that treats children like empty vessels.

On the other side: the future — a future that belongs to learners who think deeply, adapt quickly, and solve real-world problems.

At the heart of this educational revolution stands a new cognitive compass:
The Mothership of All Thinking.

But what is the Mothership?

It’s not just another thinking model.
It’s the operating system of the brain itself — the internal engine that drives how humans actually think, solve, create, and understand. And unlike traditional frameworks that chop thinking into disconnected "levels" or isolated skills, the Mothership is integrated, dynamic, and brain-aligned.

The Mothership was discovered by Cas Olivier around 2015

Amongst the following triggered his mind: For decades, we’ve been taught to plan lessons using Bloom’s Taxonomy — a tidy staircase of cognitive skills from "Remember" to "Create."

Sounds logical, right?

But here’s the problem: the brain doesn’t climb; it connects.

Real thinking isn’t hierarchical — it’s simultaneous.

When a learner solves a problem, their brain doesn’t ask, “Am I remembering now? Or analyzing?”
It activates multiple modes of thinking at once. It compares, classifies, questions, visualizes, and synthesizes in real time — often in milliseconds.

The Mothership of All Thinking maps this reality. It doesn’t ask the brain to perform for a rubric — it guides the brain to figure things out.

🚀 What’s Onboard the Mothership?

The Mothership is made up of the brain’s innate thinking tools — mental moves we all use, but often without structure or awareness.

These include:

• Understanding the context of the learning pit that is high in complexity and low in insight.
• Asking a series of critical questions which include drill down questions, chaining, forecasting, and empowering questions.
• This leads to, amongst other:
• Classifying
• Relating
• Comparing
• Sequencing
• Prioritizing,
• Contrasting,

The purpose of this is to obtain vision and clarity guided by surface and deep thinking to achieve AHA-moments as the solution is constructed.

Each of the brain’s inborn Thinking Tools  is like a module on the ship — working in holistic integrated, synchronised ways to steer the brain toward understanding.

But here's the twist: it's not about using these tools; it's about activating them.

Thinking tools aren't external add-ons to be taught — they’re internal capacities to be awakened.

Why This Changes Everything

Most education systems ask: “How do we get kids to remember more?”

The Mothership asks:
“How do we help them figure it out on their own — and love the process of doing so?”

Because in the real world:

• The best solutions aren’t remembered — they’re invented
• Success isn’t about speed — it’s about adaptability
• The real exam isn’t on paper — it’s called life

The Mothership of All Thinking prepares learners for that.

It doesn’t just deliver content.
It grows thinkers — adaptable, curious, empowered minds who can navigate complexity with confidence.