DiscoveryProtocol

Mechanism

A protocol for population-based discovery. Distinct from the Discover primitive (query-and-return): Discovery Protocol is the Generate + Reduce architecture for searching a solution space. Decomposes discovery via ConceptualDecomposition into five dimensions that apply wherever a solution space must be searched: variance (generate candidates that are precise in different directions, each generator bound to its own declared cognitive mode), selection (judge which candidates are good), novelty (distinguish structural originality from surface variation, judged by Novelty), composition (merge compatible fragments into solutions no single candidate contains), and saturation (detect when further generation yields diminishing novelty). Two phases behind hard boundaries: generation by many parallel Solvers, then reduction by a solver whose faculty is evaluation and composition rather than generation. The reducing solver routes among modes: aggregation for ensembles, a tournament for adversarial selection, a portfolio for quality-diversity preservation, and Synthesis-based merging of compatible mechanisms. A taxonomist solver classifies outputs into a growing ontological graph for saturation detection. Applies to drug discovery, hypothesis generation, strategic planning, creative production.