systematic-factor-ablation

name	systematic-factor-ablation
description	Tactic: List all factors, remove one at a time, assess conclusion stability, rank factors by load-bearing importance.
type	tactic
strategies	["factor-removal","structural-counterfactual","necessity-sufficiency"]
dependencies	{"sops":["factor-enumeration","fragility-measurement","load-bearing-identification","single-factor-removal"]}

Systematic Factor Ablation Tactic

Ablation methodology: remove factors individually and measure conclusion degradation.

Orchestration

1. factor-enumeration lists all factors supporting the conclusion
2. single-factor-removal removes one factor, reasons about what changes
3. fragility-measurement scores degradation (0.0 = no effect, 1.0 = collapse)
4. Repeat steps 2-3 for each factor within budget
5. load-bearing-identification ranks factors by degradation score
6. Terminate when all factors tested or budget exhausted

Scoring

• 0.0–0.2: Decorative factor (conclusion unaffected)
• 0.2–0.5: Supporting factor (conclusion weakened but holds)
• 0.5–0.8: Important factor (conclusion significantly degraded)
• 0.8–1.0: Load-bearing factor (conclusion collapses without it)

Subagents Dispatched

• factor-enumeration (initial listing)
• single-factor-removal (per-factor ablation)
• fragility-measurement (degradation scoring)
• load-bearing-identification (final ranking)

Termination Conditions

• All factors within budget tested
• Early termination if first load-bearing factor found and budget is S
• Saturation: consecutive factors all score below 0.2

Available SOPs

Optional, no fixed order; the final leaf is always a sop.

SOP	When to use
factor-enumeration	List all key factors, conditions, and assumptions that support or enable the artifact's conclusion.
fragility-measurement	Compute a fragility index from flip-point distances and degradation scores, summarizing how robust the conclusion is.
load-bearing-identification	Identify which factors are "load-bearing walls" — factors whose removal would collapse the conclusion.
single-factor-removal	Remove one specified factor from the artifact's support structure and reason about how the conclusion changes.