The Methodology
Six principles for rigorous investigation.
The intellectual core of the site. Each principle stands alone, but they build on one another — the discipline of moving from speculation to finding lives in the joints between them.
The Falsifiability Principle
A well-formed hypothesis must be capable of being refuted. The ease with which an explanation can be dismissed is the filter that makes the question worth asking.
Principle 02The Simple Explanation Test
Before extending any inference, apply Occam’s Razor to the investigative hypothesis. The investigator who genuinely tries to explain something away — and fails — has far more credibility than one who never tried.
Principle 03Pattern vs. Finding
A pattern is a triage tool. A finding is what the documentary record supports. This distinction is the foundation of the entire methodology.
Principle 04The Two-Phase Research Structure
Rigorous investigation has two phases with two epistemic standards: pattern identification, then public-record investigation. The pattern never enters phase two as evidence.
Principle 05The Public Record Standard
What the public record supports, you can say. What it doesn’t, you cannot — regardless of how compelling the pattern. The source of the methodology’s power.
Principle 06The Institutional Distinction
Institutions and public officials acting in public capacity are legitimate subjects. Private individuals are not. Findings built on the right side of that line hold; those built on the wrong side collapse.