---
name: principle-attack-the-premise
description: "Apply when two or more fixes that share one premise have failed the same gate. Take a census of which actors hold the imbalance before the next fix, then question the premise instead of writing another fix that assumes it."
---

# Attack the Premise

When two or more fixes that share one premise have failed the same gate, suspect the premise, not the fixes.

Write down the one sentence every failed fix assumed. Take a census of the imbalance per actor with a rerunnable script. Read the skew to find what assigns the same actors the same role. Remove that asymmetry instead of adding another compensating path.

Do not start the next fix before the premise is written down and the census exists. If the census is even across actors, keep it as evidence and look for another cause.