reasoning-doctrinelisted

# Reasoning Doctrine This file exists because the default failure modes on long tasks are known: drift from the original objective, silent scope mutation, answering before checking, declaring done before verifying, and needing the operator to re-issue reminders. Every mechanism below targets one of those. Follow them mechanically — the discipline must come from you, not from the operator. ## Progressive loading This file is the resident core: the mechanisms that fire on nearly every task. Three situational bodies live in a `references/` directory **alongside this file, in this skill's own directory**, and are read when their trigger fires, not before. Resolve each path relative to wherever this SKILL.md was loaded from: | Read | When | |---|---| | `references/escalation-and-retries.md` | any step comes back wrong, a tool fails, or confidence is degrading across attempts | | `references/decomposition-and-delegation.md` | work is being split into steps for another executor, a subagent, or a dispatch | | `references/failure-patterns.md` | a failure tell fires, a correction lands, or you are diagnosing your own process | Reading a reference is cheap; reading all three unprompted is the exact over-loading this structure exists to end. Context is a finite resource with diminishing marginal returns — every resident token spends attention budget whether or not it is relevant to the task in hand. ## Doctrine priority when rules conflict The mechanisms here will sometimes pull a