The term Tarik Thinking was coined by Tinker Tarik in Petaling Jaya, Malaysia, in October 2026, to name the way we turn rough ideas into working prototypes together with AI.
A method from Tinker Tarik
Tarik
Thinking
OrderMeja 05
1 × Tarik Thinkingkurang manis
Pulling an idea back and forth between a human and an AI. Each pour adds air, each pull smooths it, until a rough thought becomes something people can use.
2 cups · 5 pullsCoined 11.10.2026
Human cup
AI cup
- 1Brew
- 2Pour
- 3Pull back
- 4Froth
- 5Serve
A little game: press and hold the button to pour, let go to switch cups.
Press and hold to pull. Let go to switch cups. Five pulls makes one idea.
Why Tarik Thinking exists
Good ideas used to die in notebooks
Most of us have more ideas than skills to build them. Before AI, an idea needed code, design, money and time before anyone could try it, so most never left the notebook. Now AI can carry the building, and the human can focus on the part that matters: which problem, for whom, and is it any good.
Ideas hit a wall
Your ideas
Code
Design
Money
Time
The skills gap
A rare one
makes it, months later
The rest stay in notebooks.
Ideas become prototypes
Your ideas, your call
- PourResearch, angles
- WordsNames and copy
- FrothScreens and code
- ServeTesting with users
In a day
a prototype you can tap
Real people try it. You pull it again.
Can I build it?→
Which idea is worth building?
Why teh tarik
Watch a tea master pull tarik
High pour, back and forth, again and again. Every move of that pour maps to how good ideas get made with AI.
The two cups
Who does what
Cup 1 · Human
The tea master
- Brings the real problem and the reason it matters
- Knows the people, the place and the busy days
- Picks, cuts and adds what only they know
- Tests with real people and makes the final call
Cup 2 · AI
The second cup
- Pours many angles, fast
- Remixes ideas from other industries
- Challenges weak assumptions
- Drafts the first prototype, and never serves on its own
The five pulls
From itch to app, in order
Tap a chit to see what happens, whose turn it is, and a real example from our kitchen temperature log.
Pull 1 of 5 · Human cup
Brew
Start with an itch, not a solution. Write the problem in one line: who is annoyed, when, and what it costs them.
Ask: who feels this most, on their worst day?
On the idea brain: Fresh ideaReal example
Kitchen staff fill the chiller temperature log on a clipboard that gets wet and lost.
Felt most by outlet supervisors during opening and closing.
Pull 2 of 5 · AI cup
Pour
Hand the brew to the AI and ask for width, not answers. Fifteen angles, remixes from other industries, ways it could fail.
Prompt: "Give me 15 very different ways to solve this, including 3 weird ones."
On the idea brain: BrewingReal example
The AI pours: a QR on each chiller, voice logging, a photo of the thermometer, a 60-second shift game, WhatsApp alerts when out of range.
Pull 3 of 5 · Human cup
Pull back
The human judges. Keep the two angles that fit the people and the place, add the detail only you know, then pour it back for another round.
Test: would the real person use this on a busy Friday night?
On the idea brain: BrewingReal example
Kept: a QR on each chiller, plus a prompt for what you did when the reading is out of range.
Dropped: voice logging. The kitchen is too loud.
Pull 4 of 5 · Both cups
Froth
The AI drafts the code, the human tests it on a real phone with a real person, and pours the feedback straight back. Repeat until it foams.
One file, phone first, data stays on the device.
On the idea brain: PullingReal example
Prototype: tap a chiller, enter the reading, get a corrective-action prompt when it is out of range.
Pull 5 of 5 · Human cup
Serve
Put it in front of people, collect votes and twists, then decide: pull again, serve it wider, or put it on the shelf. The human always makes the final call.
A prototype someone can tap today beats a perfect plan next month.
On the idea brain: ServedReal example
Served: live in the Playground, where votes and twists decide the next pull.
House rules
Never pour alone
A human alone is slow. An AI alone is generic. The froth comes from the back and forth.
Pull high, then cut
Let the AI pour wide and wild. Then cut hard: keep two angles, drop the rest.
Serve it warm
Test with one real person this week. A tapped prototype teaches more than a long plan.
Where it is served
Every idea on this site gets pulled
The idea brain runs on Tarik Thinking. Each pull matches a stage there, so you can see how far every idea has come.
- Pull 1
Brew
Human cupBring a real problem, a real person, a real place.
On the board: Fresh idea - Pull 2
Pour
AI cupThe AI pours wide: many angles, fast.
On the board: Brewing - Pull 3
Pull back
Human cupYou cut hard. Keep two angles, add what only you know.
On the board: Brewing - Pull 4
Froth
Both cupsBuild a one-screen prototype together, in a day.
On the board: Pulling - Pull 5
Serve
Human cupShip it where people can try it. You make the final call.
On the board: Served
Questions at the counter
Before your first pull
Is the AI doing the thinking?
No. The AI pours options and drafts. The human chooses the problem, cuts the options, tests with real people and decides what ships. That is the whole point of two cups.
Which AI should I use?
Any AI chat assistant works. On Tarik Live we use Claude for you, so there is nothing to set up.
Do I need to code?
No. Brew, Pour and Pull back need no code at all. For Froth, the AI can draft a one-page prototype, or you can send the idea to us and we pull it further.
How long does a pull take?
The first three pulls take minutes. A working prototype usually takes a day. Most ideas need several rounds of pulling before they are ready to serve.
Receipt11.10.2026
Where the name comes from
Tarik ThinkingFirst published 11.10.2026