Bold Hypothesis, Careful Verification
Updated 2026-08-15
INTRODUCTION
English translation pending.
CORE DEFINITION
A method of scholarship advanced by Hu Shi, urging the researcher to propose bold hypotheses without deference to authority and then to verify them with strict evidence and logic. The two halves demand different cognitive modes: divergence during hypothesis generation to avoid timidity, and convergence during verification to avoid credulity. The qualification is that verification can falsify but never finally prove a hypothesis, so confirmation remains provisional.
SCAFFOLDING EFFECT
Reduce cognitive load
- Use Mode Switching: separate the session that generates ideas from the one that tests them. - Use Falsification Design: state in advance what evidence would make you abandon the hypothesis.
Anchor fast decisions
Generating and testing compete for the same attention: caution during generation suppresses unusual ideas, while enthusiasm during testing bends evidence toward the preferred answer. Splitting the phases lets each bias work where it helps, with conjecture expanding the space and evidence cutting it back down.
MINIMUM ACTION
In progress 0/1Practice this model in one real situation:
account_treeGenealogyexpand_more
menu_bookReferencesexpand_more
Source support: Explicit
- zh.wikipedia.orghttps://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E8%83%A1%E9%81%A9verified
PRIVATE NOTES · Only visible to you
SAVED Q&A
ENTRY Q&A · Private saving available
Ask with a clear boundary
thinkingmodels answers from published entry context only.
Your question is sent to thinkingmodels. The answer uses public entry context only.
RELATED MODELS