A Two-Axis Framework for Human Skills

Position paper. Skills frameworks are plural and well-built, but they don’t talk to each other easily. This paper proposes a shared reference frame: a two-dimensional map on which any skill from any framework can be located. The two axes are Focus (where the skill is directed: inward at the self, or outward at others, tools, and the world) and Mode (how the skill is enacted: through thinking, or through the body). The axes emerged from analysis of six existing frameworks and were validated across independent datasets and languages. The map is not a replacement for any framework; it is a shared coordinate system that lets conversations proceed across framework boundaries.