Objection Playbook (Anticipate, Steelman, Defeat)
Use this to keep every paper “attack-ready” without devolving into rhetorical bloat.
Rule 1: Steelman first
Every objection note must include:
- the strongest version of the critique (no strawmen)
- why it feels compelling
- the best logic-first reply
- “what would change my mind” (falsifiers / disconfirming evidence)
Rule 2: Separate layers
- Axioms/definitions: defended by indispensability, self-refutation traps, and parsimony; not “proven”.
- Empirical claims: must route through
HYPOTHESIS -> OPERATIONALIZATION -> DATASET -> EVIDENCE_EXTRACT -> RESULT.
Rule 3: Prefer constraint arguments over vibes
When replying, prefer:
- type discipline (“that objection confuses categories”)
- boundary conditions (“if X, then Y must follow”)
- parsimony (“this alternative adds free parameters”)
- causal power (“this alternative cannot generate the signature we predict”)