Hypothesis-driven problem solving

Starting with a provisional answer and testing it, rather than gathering everything and hoping a conclusion appears.

The method's efficiency comes from the tests. A hypothesis specifies what evidence would disprove it, which narrows the work from everything knowable to the two or three things that would change the answer.

Its risk is confirmation. A hypothesis held too tightly turns the analysis into a search for supporting evidence, which is why the discipline includes stating in advance what would falsify it.

Write down what would change your mind. Then look for that.