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competing-hypothesis-generation

Research
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SOP: Generate mechanistically distinct competing hypotheses for the same phenomenon

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How to use this skill

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Source SKILL.md: https://github.com/yogsoth-ai/de-anthropocentric-research-engine/blob/HEAD/skills/competing-hypothesis-generation/SKILL.md

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Competing Hypothesis Generation

Generate genuinely distinct competing hypotheses for the same phenomenon to guard against confirmation bias and keep explanations open.

HARD-GATE

Not satisfied → stop and return error: primary hypothesis and phenomenon description required.

Pipeline

  1. Precondition check: verify completeness of the primary hypothesis and phenomenon description
  2. Alternative mechanism search: look for different causal mechanisms that can explain the same phenomenon
  3. Alternative theory application: derive predictions about the same phenomenon from different theoretical frameworks
  4. Reverse reasoning: consider explanations with the opposite causal direction
  5. Deduplication: ensure each competing hypothesis is mechanistically distinct from the primary hypothesis and from the other competing hypotheses
  6. Output competing hypothesis list

Output Format

[
  {
    "hypothesis_id": "CH1",
    "statement": "Competing hypothesis statement",
    "mechanism": "Different causal mechanism from the primary hypothesis",
    "theoretical_basis": "Theory or reasoning supporting this alternative",
    "key_difference": "How this differs mechanistically from the primary hypothesis",
    "shared_prediction": "Prediction shared with primary hypothesis (makes discrimination hard)",
    "unique_prediction": "Prediction unique to this hypothesis (enables discrimination)"
  }
]

At least 2 competing hypotheses, each mechanistically distinct from the primary hypothesis.