Infrastructure · Data Structures
Hypothesis
Testable prediction staged for falsification attempts — provisional, not asserted
Definition
Mechanism
A testable prediction staged for falsification attempts. Distinct from a Claim (asserted as true), an Assumption (held provisionally to make progress), and an Axiom (accepted without proof): a Hypothesis carries an explicit commitment to be checked against evidence and updated or discarded accordingly.
Invariants
- Names at least one observation that, if made, would tell against it.
- Evidence can falsify or corroborate a Hypothesis, never establish it.
Risks
Failure modes
None stated.
Relationships
Root pattern: builds on nothing in this library.
Used by
References
Mind
Inference to the best explanation — provisional, ranked by simplicity/scope/coherence
Society
Adversarial proof of absence
Mind
A perceived shortfall in the thinking a situation calls for, read as unwilling, unable, or deliberately undeclared
Mind
Active search for contradictory evidence
Mind
Proof of falsehood
Mind
Automated scientific method
Mind
Bayesian belief updating via falsification rungs
Proving non-membership in a committed state snapshot
Reference
Data schema
{
"type": "object",
"required": [
"proposition",
"status"
],
"properties": {
"proposition": {
"type": "string",
"description": "The tentative explanation"
},
"confidence": {
"type": "number",
"description": "Initial probability estimate (0-1)"
},
"status": {
"type": "string",
"enum": [
"Open",
"Corroborated",
"Falsified"
],
"description": "Standing against evidence. No Proven state: surviving falsification attempts corroborates a hypothesis, it does not establish it."
}
}
}