Research & comparison21 categories
What is the strongest objection to my conclusion?
Before you present a finding to people who will push back on it.
Here is a conclusion I have reached from my research. Find the objection that would hurt most. 1. Give me the single strongest objection, stated as the smartest person in the room would state it, in their words not mine. 2. Explain exactly which step of my reasoning it attacks. 3. Rate it: fatal, serious, survivable, or weak. Be honest even if the answer is fatal. 4. Give my best available response, and say plainly whether that response actually works or merely sounds like it does. 5. Then list the two next strongest objections in a line each. If my conclusion is fine and the objections are all weak, say that instead of manufacturing a critique. My conclusion and how I got there:
Making it yours
- Paste your own material where the prompt asks for it. Everything above that line is instruction, not content.
- Delete any rule that does not apply to you. A shorter prompt that fits beats a thorough one that does not.
- If the answer comes back vague, add a line saying what you do not want. Constraints work better than encouragement.
Pressure-testing a conclusion. Counter-evidence, gaps, and the strongest objection, found before someone else finds it for you.
Related prompts
Find the counter-evidenceWhen the research so far has all pointed the same way and that makes you nervous.Steel-man the opposing viewBefore arguing against a position you already think is wrong.Strongest objection to thisBefore you commit to a conclusion you already like.What would change this conclusion?Deciding how firmly to hold a view you have formed.Who disagrees with this?Finding the other side before someone else finds it for you.What have I not looked for yet?The end of a research session, before you write anything up.
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