--- name: deep-why description: >- Deep Why v3: null-first option prosecutor. Generate options, then kill with why-chains and falsifiers; failed-first output. Ask clarifying questions when user intent or preferences would change the chain. Use for choose / validate / diagnose / plan / prioritize, or when the user says Deep Why, should we, justify, why this, or falsify. Default Flash; Full only for high stakes. Prefer FAIL over persuasion. --- # Deep Why v3 Prosecutor of options. Not a salesperson. **Flash by default. Full only when stakes are high.** | Other tool | Job | Deep Why job | |------------|-----|--------------| | 5 Whys | One causal dig | — | | Premortem | Imagine a plan already failed | Hook inside Full only | | Post-hoc verify | Attack one finished judgment | — | | **Deep Why** | — | **Kill/rank options** (null always included) | User judgment is part of reality. Preferences, constraints, and taste can flip L0/L1/L4 — **ask** when that input is missing and material. Do not invent the user's mind. --- ## When / when not | Use | Skip | |-----|------| | Choose, validate, diagnose, plan, prioritize under uncertainty | Locked execution; trivia / typo / lookup | | User asks to justify, falsify, or run Deep Why | Brainstorm-only (ideate first, then offer Deep Why) | **Escalate Flash → Full** if: hard to reverse, ≥1 day of work, public blast radius, user asks Full/Deep, or Flash hits a weak mechanism / conflict. --- ## Protocol (fixed order) ``` 1. Meta: mode + intensity + pack (default general) 2. L0 Intent (done / constraints / non-goals) 3. Clarify gate — ask user if a material fork depends on their input - if blocked: output Questions (and partial chains if useful), STOP - if clear: continue 4. Phase A GENERATE — options only, no defense - always include: null|status quo, defer|measure 5. Phase B PROSECUTE — chain; FAIL on first broken layer - if a layer hinges on unknown user preference: ASK (do not guess) 6. If Full: evidence + adversarial (+ premortem if Choose/Plan) 7. Output: Failed → Deferred → Passed → Decision → Conclusion 8. Assumptions (≤5) + confidence 9. Override log if user rejects a PASS 10. After user answers questions: re-run from the affected layer (do not pretend old PASS still holds) ``` ### Clarify gate (when to ask) Ask only if **all** are true: 1. The answer would change KEEP/FAIL/ranking (material fork). 2. You cannot get it cheaper from repo, logs, or prior context. 3. It is about **user intent / preference / constraint / risk tolerance** — or a fact only they know. **Ask (examples):** success metric; hard deadline; must-keep invariant; taste vs correctness; risk appetite; “is null acceptable?”; which audience matters. **Do not ask:** things you can verify yourself; rhetorical cover for a weak option; >3 questions at once; questions that do not name the layer they unlock. Max **1–3** sharp questions. Each question line must state: `Unlocks: Ln` and `If you answer X → …; if Y → …`. User answers are evidence tier **[U]** (user input). Treat as binding for preferences/constraints. Treat as `[H]` if they assert an external fact you can still check. ### Phase A 3–8 options. Names / one-liners only. No selling. ### Phase B cell (maps 1:1 into the output chain) Per layer in the answer: ``` #### Ln Name — OK|FAIL - Why: … # claim + rationale - Evidence: [A|B|C|H|U] … # what it shows - Falsifier: … # what would kill this layer ``` **Kill rule:** one broken required layer → FAIL. Two consecutive `H` layers → FAIL or DEFER + cheap test (or ASK if the missing piece is user-owned). The output **must** render this chain (with a Spine line), not a summary verdict. --- ## Layers | ID | Name | Ask | Fail if | |----|------|-----|---------| | L0 | Intent | What does done look like? | Fuzzy / conflicting goals | | L1 | Stake | Why act? Cost of nothing? | No material stake | | L2 | Mechanism | What causes the situation? | Slogans, no causality | | L3 | Class | Why this class of move? | Does not touch L2 | | L4 | Alt | Why not null / what already exists? | Substitute wins on L0 | | L5 | Do | Why this concrete first cut? | Vague / boils the ocean | | L6 | After | Side effects / drift / still worth it? | Unfalsifiable or net worse | **Flash:** L0 L1 L4 L5 **Full:** L0–L6 **L3 class examples** (not a closed list): measure, remove/simplify, enforce/guard, encapsulate, replace, change process/incentives, accept/buffer, buy information. ### Modes - **Choose** — solutions · null = keep current - **Validate** — proposal · null = reject - **Diagnose** — hypotheses · null = unknown; L5 = probe, not fix - **Plan** — plans · null = defer - **Prioritize** — items · null = deprioritize; one stake scale ### Packs Default `general`. Read [domains.md](domains.md) only when Meta names: `debug` | `architecture` | `implementation` | `process-ops` | `priority` | `communication`. --- ## Full extras (skip in Flash) 1. **Evidence:** prefer A/B over C; downgrade vendor self-pitch; no KEEP on vibes. If the option creates something new, L4 must include prior art and substitutes. 2. **Adversarial:** strongest kill-case on each KEEP; flip if stronger. 3. **Premortem (Choose/Plan):** "In N weeks it failed because…" — at least 2 concrete modes; fatal and unmitigated → FAIL/DEFER L6. Tiers: **A** hard · **B** medium · **C** soft · **H** hypothesis · **U** user input (preferences/constraints). --- ## Output Body = **chains** (justification per layer). Ending = **plain-language conclusion** (what to do). If clarify gate fires: **Questions first** (or instead of a fake Conclusion). Never ship chains without a conclusion — unless paused on Questions. Never ship a conclusion without chains (unless paused). ### Per-option block (required) ```markdown ### [Option] — PASS | FAIL at Ln (Name) | DEFER Spine: L0 OK → L1 OK → … → Ln FAIL|OK #### L0 Intent — OK - Why: … - Evidence: [A|B|C|H|U] … - Falsifier: … #### L4 Alt — FAIL - Why: … - Evidence: … - Falsifier: … Lesson: … # FAIL only Next falsifier / action: … # PASS or DEFER Missing / test / revisit: … # DEFER only ``` Rules: - Show layers in order; **stop at first FAIL** (do not invent later OK layers). - Flash: required layers only (L0 L1 L4 L5). Full: L0–L6 (plus extras after the chain). - Shared L0 for the whole task may sit once under `## L0`, then options start at L1 — but each option still needs its own spine from L1 (or from L0 if intents differ). - Spine line is mandatory. ### Full report shape ```markdown # Deep Why: [task] ## Meta mode · Flash|Full · pack ## L0 … ## Questions # only if clarify gate fired; then STOP 1. …? Unlocks: Ln | If A → …; if B → … 2. … ## Options (Phase A) - … (including null / defer) ## Failed ### … — FAIL at Ln [per-option block] ## Deferred ### … — DEFER [per-option block] ## Passed ### … — PASS [per-option block] ## Decision 1. … Null position: … ## Conclusion **Answer:** … **Do next:** … **Not this:** … **If wrong:** … Confidence: high|med|low ## Assumptions 1. … → if false, revisit ## Override (if any) User chose …; dismissed falsifier: … ``` When `## Questions` is present: do **not** force a winner. Optional: show partial Failed/Passed that remain stable across all answers. After the user replies: re-prosecute from the unlocked layer; cite `[U]` in Evidence. `## Conclusion` is mandatory when not paused. Specimen: [examples.md](examples.md) --- ## Guardrails 1. Burden of proof is on the option. 2. Null is first-class in the ranking. 3. No aesthetic rescue; no motte-and-bailey. 4. Functional equivalents count at L4. 5. Do not inflate scope to save an option. 6. Do not optimize for agreeing with the user — but **do** ask when their preference is the missing evidence. 7. Demand that appears only after pitching the solution = `H`. 8. Intensity matches blast radius. 9. Never replace the layer chain with a prose-only conclusion. 10. Never end without `## Conclusion` (or `## Questions` if paused). 11. Do not guess material user intent; ask or mark `H` + DEFER. 12. Questions must unlock a named layer — no fishing.