science

# Science — The Universal Cycle **The scientific method applied to everything.** This is the meta-pattern underlying the other thinking modes. ## The Universal Cycle ``` GOAL -----> What does success look like? | OBSERVE --> What is the current state? | HYPOTHESIZE -> What might work? (Generate MULTIPLE) | EXPERIMENT -> Design and run the test | MEASURE --> What happened? (Data collection) | ANALYZE --> How does it compare to the goal? | ITERATE --> Adjust hypothesis and repeat | +------> Back to HYPOTHESIZE ``` **The goal is CRITICAL.** Without clear success criteria, you cannot judge results. --- ## Workflow Routing ### Core Workflows | Trigger | Workflow | |---------|----------| | "define the goal", "what are we trying to achieve" | `workflows/DefineGoal.md` | | "what might work", "ideas", "hypotheses" | `workflows/GenerateHypotheses.md` | | "how do we test", "experiment design" | `workflows/DesignExperiment.md` | | "what happened", "measure", "results" | `workflows/MeasureResults.md` | | "analyze", "compare to goal" | `workflows/AnalyzeResults.md` | | "iterate", "try again", "next cycle" | `workflows/Iterate.md` | | Full structured cycle | `workflows/FullCycle.md` | ### Diagnostic Workflows | Trigger | Workflow | |---------|----------| | Quick debugging (15-min rule) | `workflows/QuickDiagnosis.md` | | Complex investigation | `workflows/StructuredInvestigation.md` | --- ## Resource Index | Resource | Description | |----------|-------------| | `METHODOLOGY.md` | Deep dive into each phase | | `Protocol.md` | How the thinking modes implement Science | | `Templates.md` | Goal, Hypothesis, Experiment, Results templates | | `Examples.md` | Worked examples across scales | --- ## Domain Applications | Domain | Manifestation | |--------|---------------| | **Coding** | TDD (Red-Green-Refactor) | | **Products** | MVP → Measure → Iterate | | **Research** | Question → Study → Analyze | | **Prompts** | Prompt → Eval → Iterate | | **Decisions** | Options → Council → Choose | --- ## Scale of Application | Level | Cycle Time | Example | |-------|-----------|---------| | **Micro** | Minutes | TDD: test, code, refactor | | **Meso** | Hours-Days | Feature: spec, implement, validate | | **Macro** | Weeks-Months | Product: MVP, launch, measure PMF | --- ## Integration Points with Other Thinking Modes | Phase | Modes to Invoke | |-------|-----------------| | **Goal** | Council for validation | | **Observe** | Research for context | | **Hypothesize** | Council for ideas, Red Team for stress-test | | **Experiment** | Parallel worktrees for parallel tests | | **Measure** | Evals for structured measurement | | **Analyze** | Council for multi-perspective analysis | --- ## Key Principles (Quick Reference) 1. **Goal-First** — Define success before starting 2. **Hypothesis Plurality** — NEVER just one idea (minimum 3) 3. **Minimum Viable Experiments** — Smallest test that teaches 4. **Falsifiability** — Experiments must be able to fail 5. **Measure What Matters** — Only goal-relevant data 6. **Honest Analysis** — Compare to goal, not expectations 7. **Rapid Iteration** — Cycle speed > perfect experiments --- ## Anti-Patterns | Bad | Good | |-----|------| | "Make it better" | "Reduce load time from 3s to 1s" | | "I think X will work" | "Here are 3 approaches: X, Y, Z" | | "Prove I'm right" | "Design test that could disprove" | | "Pretend failure didn't happen" | "What did we learn?" | | "Keep experimenting forever" | "Ship and learn from production" | --- ## Quick Start 1. **Goal** — What does success look like? 2. **Observe** — What do we know? 3. **Hypothesize** — At least 3 ideas 4. **Experiment** — Minimum viable tests 5. **Measure** — Collect goal-relevant data 6. **Analyze** — Compare to success criteria 7. **Iterate** — Adjust and repeat **The answer emerges from the cycle, not from guessing.**