metacognitive-cycle-detect

Recognize when thinking is going in circles, useful when stuck, repeating yourself, or not making progress despite continued effort. Use when: (1) asked to detect when reasoning is looping back without progress, (2) when the same points or arguments have appeared in multiple recent responses without new conclusions, (3) when the conversation has returned to the same decision point or blocking question repeatedly, (4) when multiple information requests or research steps haven't changed the approach to the problem, (5) when similar analysis appears with different framing but produces equivalent conclusions, (6) when revision or refinement cycles continue with diminishing value relative to effort, (7) when work addresses peripheral aspects while the central question remains unresolved