principle-attack-the-premise

• SKILL.mdcore · 3,341 bytes

# Attack the premise

A second failure at the same check, from fixes built on one assumption, makes that assumption the suspect. Before you try a third variant, write the premise down and run an observation able to refute it.

## When it applies

Two or more attempts that assumed the same cause have failed one gate (the same test, benchmark, or review criterion), and you are about to try a third variation.

It does not apply to a single failed fix, or to failures at unrelated gates with unrelated assumptions. The neighbouring principle, [principle-redesign-from-first-principles](../principle-redesign-from-first-principles/SKILL.md), reshapes a design when a requirement changes. This one questions a factual assumption the existing design depends on.

## What to do

1. Write the premise as one sentence, in the reply or the decision log, where the user can read it. Example: "The auth bypass in the agent's tool router comes from the regex allowlist missing a case."
2. Design a discriminating observation, one whose result differs depending on whether the premise holds. For the example: log the exact tool name string that reached the router on the failing request. If it matches the allowlist exactly, the regex was never the problem.