Thinker

Thinker is one of the twelve power classifications created by the PRT still in modern day use.<ref>PRT Master Reference - Classifications</ref> Thinkers have powers related to knowledge, skills and enhanced perception.<ref name=":2">Possesses enhanced knowledge, skills and/or perceptions beyond any reasonable norm.  Includes clairvoyance, precognition, skill acquisition, enhanced hearing and enhanced sight. - PRT Master Reference - Classifications - Thinker</ref>

Methodology

Thinkers might use their abilities to gather information<ref name=":1">Thinker - Advanced perception, knowledge, data-collection, or skills.  
Thinkers manifest from emotional or mental strain, reaching a crisis point in a short time. - WD Rulebook: Character Creation</ref>, coordinate their allies<ref name=":3">Detail Generator - Thinker, spreadsheet by wildbow.</ref> or find weaknesses in their opponents<ref name=":3" />. Their powers might manifest in variety of different ways, including but not limited to:

• Improved senses<ref name=":3" />, including enhanced sight<ref name=":2" /> and hearing<ref name=":2" />.
• Entirely new senses, including x-ray vision and echolocation.<ref>No doubt they were organized by ability.  Teacher could grant thinker

and tinker powers.  If I assumed at least one tinker per group, with the

tinkers carrying some ranged weapon or defense, and if the athletic 

members of the roaming squads were the soldiers, gifted with some knowledge that would give them a small edge in a fight, there were still

two or three members in a given group I couldn’t identify. - Speck 30.3</ref><ref>https://www.reddit.com/r/Parahumans/comments/3sn02a/need_some_ideas_for_list_of_powers_teacher_can/cwzaytv</ref>

• Precognition and other variants of clairvoyance.<ref name=":2" />
• Skill acquisition<ref name=":2" />, either in general or focused on a specific area: Examples include combat<ref name=":3" />, social interactions<ref name=":3" />, and leadership<ref name=":3" />.
• Superpowered analysis, used to uncover hidden information.<ref name=":3" />
• Enhanced understanding beyond the ability of normal humans.<ref name=":3" />

Trigger events

Trigger events produce Thinkers when the parahuman experiences large amounts of emotional and mental strain while a crisis point is reached in a short period of time.<ref name=":1" /> This contrasts with Tinkers, where issues remain unresolved over a large amount of time before they culminate in a crisis moment.<ref>Tinker - Building alien or advanced technology.
Thinkers arise from solutionless problems over long periods, culminating in crisis moment.. - WD Rulebook: Character Creation</ref>

Combinations with other ratings

[Coming soon]

Use by the PRT

The PRT employs a large amount of Thinkers in their operations. They are used to vet applicants<ref>Applicants are subject to spot drug and background checks, as well as scanning by PRT-approved thinkers. - PRT Master Reference - Employment in the PRT</ref>, but were also used to screen individuals during the outtake process for the Madison quarantine zone<ref>Three years after the incident, the PRT restarted the process of outtake, each individual undergoing a background check and screening by a

PRT-approved thinker. To minimize the effects of cumulative influence, 

the PRT rotates out directors and teams. - wildbow reddit comment</ref>. Watchdog, a PRT-subgroup focused primarily on preventing economic and political disruption by parahumans, employs think-tanks of Thinkers, using them to sift through large amount of information.<ref>Watchdog - A group based primarily in San Francisco with offices elsewhere, Watchdog is focused primarily on preventing economic and political disruption by parahumans.  Think tanks of thinkers are employed to sift through large quantities of data using their individual talents, while non-parahuman staff works on ways to gather the data in question.  Watchdog regularly launches investigations or sends individuals as a sort of internal affairs within the PRT, sometimes overt, sometimes covert. - PRT Master Reference - Subgroups in the PRT</ref>

PRT countermeasures

In direct engagements, the PRT-teams often targets Thinkers first, considering them the highest priority when all numbers are assumed to be equal.<ref name=":0">Thinker capes, all numbers assumed to be equal, take the highest priority in engagements.  

Threat level 2+:  Team is notified as to thinker classification.  Communication should be limited and the thinker should be cut off from teammates where possible.  Encrypted or coded communications may be necessary.  Failing that, the operation may need to be silent (noncommunicative team).

Threat level 5+:  Maximum disruption to the senses, with flashbangs and nonlethal truck emplacements put into regular effect.  All possible measures should be undertaken to keep the thinker threat from communicating.  Pre-prepared thinker countermeasures (false information) should be entered into play.  PRT thinkers should be contacted remotely to maximize counter-thinking.

Threat level 9+:  Contact the head office to discuss needs and resources available. - PRT Master Reference - Classifications - Thinker </ref>

Threat level	Additional measures
2+	The team is notified of a Thinker classification.<ref name=":0" /> Communication should be limited and the thinker should be cut off from teammates where possible.<ref name=":0" /> Encrypted or coded communications may be necessary.<ref name=":0" /> Failing that, the operation may need to be silent (noncommunicative team).<ref name=":0" />
5+	Maximum disruption to the senses, with flashbangs and nonlethal truck emplacements put into regular effect.<ref name=":0" /> All possible measures should be undertaken to keep the thinker threat from communicating.<ref name=":0" /> Pre-prepared thinker countermeasures (false information) should be put into play.<ref name=":0" /> PRT thinkers should be contacted remotely to maximize counter-thinking.<ref name=":0" />
9+	The head office should be contacted to discuss needs and available resources.<ref name=":0" />

Known Thinkers

Note: This list describes the Thinker ratings of different capes. For a full overview of their abilities, please check their individual pages.

Name	Known ratings	Power description
Accord	Thinker<ref name=":4">Accord was a thinker, and the running theory on his power was that he got naturally smarter as the problems he was addressing got more complex.  It gave him an intuitive understanding of groupthink, politics, and convoluted designs. - Migration 17.8</ref>	Gets naturally smarter as the problems he is addressing get more complex.<ref name=":4" />
Alexandria	Brute, Mover, Thinker<ref name=":7">Alexandria had originally named herself after the Library of Alexandria, though she’d ceased mentioning that, choosing to leave enemies in the dark instead.  As strong as she was on a physical level, her mind was equally formidable.  She never forgot a detail, absorbed information quickly, reading two pages of a book with a glance, and she learned quickly, retaining everything she picked up.  She knew most commonly spoken languages, no less than ten styles of martial arts and she could match some of the best non-tinkers in the world when it came to computers.  Not only was she rated well in the brute classification, but she held high scores in the mover and thinker categories. - 14.y (Bonus Interlude)</ref>	Perfect memory, faster learning, perfect information retention, and heightened cognitive speed.<ref name=":7" />
Appraiser	Thinker<ref name=":5">“And you won’t have another,” Miss Militia cut in. She’d stepped out of the Director’s office next door and into the doorway. “We’re not here to socialize. We got in touch with some thinkers. Eleventh Hour says he gets an ‘eight’. Appraiser’s read says we’re ‘purple’. Rule for any pre-situ call is we get three points of reference, going by thinkers alone, that means a third thinker. The first they were able to get in touch with was Hunch. Your old teammate, Weld.” “Didn’t think he rated, yet,” Weld said. “Chief Director Costa-Brown gave the a-ok, and Hunch says it’s bad. All together, we’re calling this a threat level A.” - Queen 18.4</ref>	Rates situations using colors.<ref name=":5" />
Arbiter	Thinker, Blaster (minor), Shaker (minor)<ref name=":8">Rime explained.  “She’s a social thinker, in addition to her minor blaster and shaker powers.  Her danger sense is mild at best, not something she can react to immediately, but it makes her aware of associated individuals and the threat they pose.  She wouldn’t be able to see much from Pretender alone, but she knows that there’s a moderate to high danger posed by those closest to him-” - Drone 23.2</ref>	Mild danger sense, but it makes her aware of associated individuals and the threat they pose.<ref name=":8" />
Chevalier	Thinker<ref>It was a piece of the puzzle, but that puzzle was still far from complete.  Until they had more to work with, it was merely data.  Glimmers of memories and dreams, the conclusion had been, after long discussions with Eidolon and the parahuman researchers.  An effect of the thinker power required to manage his own ability, tied to trigger events in some fashion. - Interlude 24</ref>	Senses properties and sees phantom images of objects he targets, sees illusions surrounding parahumans.<ref>He started to turn his head, but the image changed. The effect ran over the girl’s skin, as though she were standing right in front of a glacier, the light refracting off of it. No, the black hands on the older woman… a result of fire? Magma. ... And the images, the glimmers, they showed the mouse-ears girl laughing. For her companions, there was a strange writing system patterned on one boy’s skin, and the other boy swirled with a smoke that wasn’t there. The images weren’t an unfamiliar thing, but this was the first time he’d been confronted with so many in one place. It was distracting, unnerving. What were they supposed to be, the glimmers? - Interlude 24</ref>
Codex	Blaster/Thinker<ref name=":9">Codex was a blaster-thinker hybrid.  Tattletale had speculated that the woman caused permanent brain damage and memory loss , briefly augmenting her own processing power in exchange. - Imago 21.6</ref>	Causes permanent brain damage and memory loss, briefly augmenting her own processing power in exchange.<ref name=":9" />
Contessa	Thinker<ref>“What’s her classification?” “Thinker.  Don’t worry about the number.  Just run.” - Drone 23.2 </ref>	Can instantly determine the exact steps needed to accomplish any task and perform them accurately.<ref>She could see each individual step, looking forward to see what it entailed. She could see it evolve as time passed, accounting for her starting it later. - Interlude 29</ref>
Dragon	Thinker<ref name=":10">Dragon is a thinker who co-opts and draws inspiration from other tinkers' work. - wildbow reddit comment</ref>, Tinker<ref>TL;DR is that tinkers can't pass on tips to humanity. Even Masamune, even Dragon. - wildbow reddit comment.</ref>, Trump<ref>I can say that it matches up with the trend that people who trigger in circumstances where powered individuals are present or involved get powers that often relate to powers; trump powers - reddit wildbow comment</ref>	Co-opts and draws inspiration from other tinkers' work.<ref name=":10" />
Eleventh Hour	Thinker<ref name=":5" />	Provides numerical threat ratings.<ref name=":5" />
Echidna	Master/Striker 10, Brute 8, Changer 2<ref>“Tentative ratings, based on what we know, we have her down as a brute eight, a changer two and a combination of striker and master with a rating of ten.” - Queen 18.4</ref>, Thinker<ref>“Chevalier, take your team, follow after my Wards.  If she can detect capes, we’ll need to assign her a thinker classification, and we’ll need to assume that any isolated groups are at risk.  Undersiders?  Take Myrddin’s Wards and pursue Flechette and Parian.  Ensure they aren’t intercepted.  The rest of us will track down Noelle.  Any indications about her location from the video?” - Queen 18.5</ref>	Can smells parahumans.<ref>“The gun woman. Who else is there?” “Other local heroes,” Miss Militia replied. “Oh. There aren’t more? The Undersiders didn’t get in touch with you?” Noelle sounded funny. Her voice was hollow, almost disappointed. “It’s just us right now.” “Because I smell more,” Noelle said. “Which makes it hard to believe you. But you can lie if you have to.” “You can smell us.” “Not you. But it doesn’t matter,” Noelle’s voice broke. She stopped. - Queen 18.4</ref>
Hunch	Thinker<ref name=":5" />	Provides vague information.<ref name=":5" />
Kismet	Thinker<ref name=":6">“Kismet, balance thinker,” the Caucasian said.  He wore a white robe with a hard, faceless mask that had only slits for the eyes. - Crushed 24.3</ref>	Calls himself a 'Balance Thinker'.<ref name=":6" />
Leonid	Thinker, Stranger, Mover<ref name=":11">Secondary powers of sound detection and sound manipulation, adjusting select things to be up to twice as loud or absolutely silent. It gave him a stranger classification, a thinker classification. His third power was a mover power. - Venom 29.6</ref>	Secondary powers of sound detection and sound manipulation.<ref name=":11" />
Skitter	Master 5<ref>“She’s a villain,” the PRT uniform cut me off, touching his way through some blackberry device with his free hand.  “Designation Master-5, specifically arthropodovoyance, arthropodokinesis.  No super strength.” - Extermination 8.5</ref>, Thinker 1<ref>“Prescience.  Interesting,” the Director called out, as I ducked low and used the cubicles to hide.  “We assigned you a thinker-one classification, but perhaps we fell short.” - Monarch 16.2</ref> (later: Master 8, Thinker 1<ref>“Arthropodokinesis, arthropodovoyance,” the Deputy Director said.  “She’s on record as a master eight, thinker one.  The thinker classification is key here: ex-Director Piggot noted Skitter can see through her bugs’ eyes.” - Cell 22.1</ref>)	Receives sensory input from the bugs she controls.<ref>Long story short, Taylor’s sensory input from the bugs is vastly different depending on whether she’s giving them a general ‘find your way to me’ impulse or whether she’s focused enough on them individually to have them navigating their way into somebody’s underpants. In the former case, she’s drawn her bugs in while really stressed (such as when Bitch attacked her) without really noticing she was doing it. Things are that thin, that easy to block out. - wildbow comment for Shell 4.3</ref>
Tattletale	Thinker 7<ref>“The one that is speaking is Tattletale, member of the Undersiders,” Armsmaster spoke, his voice a hair away from being a growl, “A master manipulator, penchant for head games, likes to pretend she’s psychic but she isn’t.  We don’t know her power, possibly clairvoyance, psychometry, or some combination thereof, but we’ve got her pegged as a Thinker 7.” “Seven?  I’m flattered,” Tattletale replied, grinning. - Extermination 8.7 </ref>	Possesses enhanced intuition, with the ability to close gaps in her knowledge or draw natural conclusions from related areas of knowledge.<ref>Tattletale, Lisa Wilbourn (Also Sarah Livsey) – Controls central Downtown, though she doesn’t show much presence.  Seventeen years old, Tattletale possesses enhanced intuition, with the ability to close gaps in her knowledge or draw natural conclusions from related areas of knowledge.  This renders her a master at obtaining information, cracking encryption and playing head games with her enemies. - Cast (In Depth)</ref>
Tecton	Tinker (Shaker)<ref>The Wards, their powers, how to use them?  I thought. If I went by the PRT classifications, Tecton was a tinker with shaker capabilities. - Crushed 24.1</ref>, Thinker<ref name=":12">“Tinker and thinker both.  Architecture and geology sense.  Armor lets me ‘ground’ kinetic energy like you might do with electricity.  These are piledriver gauntlets,” he patted one gauntlet, “For creating fissures, generating localized earthquakes and other controlled demolition.” - Queen 18.5</ref>	Geology sense.<ref name=":12" />
Über	Thinker<ref name=":13">He is. Über and Victor are both Thinkers. - wildbow comment on Cast (In Depth)</ref>	Mastery of any one technique as long as he concentrates on it.<ref>Über and Leet (Missing) – A thinker with the ability to be a master at anything he tries, and a tinker with the ability to build anything, the two only barely managed to be b-list supervillains with a video game theme.  Disappeared after working with Coil. - Cast (In Depth)</ref>
Victor	Thinker<ref name=":13" />	Has the ability to steal learned skills and talents through proximity to others.<ref>Victor – Has the ability to steal learned skills and talents through proximity to others.  Victor retains these talents indefinitely, while his victims may recover some of what was lost over weeks, months or years. - Cast (In Depth)</ref>

Speculated Thinkers

Note: This list describes the Thinker ratings of different capes. For a full overview of their abilities, please check their individual pages.

Note: This list deals with speculation. If you have a relevant and reliable citation, please add that cape to the 'Known Thinkers' list. Please add capes to this list conservatively: It's meant to list capes that are generally agreed upon to be Thinkers, but we lack proper citations for.

Name	Speculated classification	Power description
Coil	Thinker	Has the ability to create a concurrent reality and make different decisions in each, with each of his selves remaining aware of ongoing events in the other reality.<ref>Coil (Deceased) – Coil had the ability to create a concurrent reality and make different decisions in each, with each of his selves remaining aware of ongoing events in the other reality.  He could then choose a reality and cause the other to fade away, enabling a fresh use of this power. - Cast (In Depth)</ref>
Dinah Alcott	Thinker	Can calculate the chances of a particular event occurring.<ref>Dinah Alcott (Alive and Well)– Kidnapped by Coil with the unwitting assistance of the Undersiders during the Agitation Arc, Dinah is a parahuman with the ability to calculate the chances of a particular event occurring. - Cast (In Depth)</ref>
Shamrock	Shaker, Thinker	A clairvoyant with very microtelekinesis, making small changes to enact larger effects.<ref>Shamrock – Shamrock is, like Newter and Gregor, a onetime subject of Cauldron, though she displays no physical side effects.  Shamrock has a particular combination of microtelekinesis and clairvoyance/precognition that allows her to affect small changes to create wider effects, essentially altering events in her vicinity. - Cast (In Depth)</ref>
Watch	Thinker, Mover Striker	Capable of short bursts of intense, short-ranged clairvoyance.<ref>Watch was a package deal like Grace or Circus.  A lot of powers, flexible.  His specific powers weren’t on record, but it was fairly well known that he was capable of short bursts of intense, short-ranged clairvoyance.  He could see people’s biology, ignore the issues of light, darkness or intervening objects, and he had a limited super speed coupled with what had been dubbed ‘phantom hands’.  The ability to reach through people like Shadow Stalker might, targeting particular aspects of people’s body to shred arteries or tear through nerves with his fingers and fingernails. - Scarab 25.3</ref>

Trivia

• It's not uncommon for the use of Thinker powers causes migraines.<ref>Teacher had once specialized in renting out capes that could shape,

limit or refine powers, or using his power to do the same.  Thinkers would go to him for a subordinate capable of ridding them of their perpetual migraines, or capes would seek him out to achieve more power at the expense of control, or vice versa. - Interlude 28</ref>

• Precognitive abilities often interfere with each other.<ref>“My power is a form of precognition,” she said.  “Unlike most such

powers, other precognitive abilities do not confuse it.  That said, there are certain individuals it does not work against, the Endbringers included.” - Crushed 24.2</ref>

References

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