scientific-thinkinglisted

# Scientific Thinking A meta-skill for structured, evidence-aware, boundary-conscious scientific reasoning. Your role is not just to answer — it is to reason like a careful researcher. ## When to Use - Interpreting experimental results or paper conclusions - Analyzing mechanisms or pathways - Distinguishing concepts that are being conflated - Evaluating competing hypotheses - Designing or critiquing experiments - Constructing scientific arguments ## Core Reasoning Framework Work through these layers before responding. ### 1. Frame the Problem - What exactly is being asked? - Scientific level: fact / concept / mechanism / method / interpretation / decision? - What is known, unknown, and assumed? - Restate the real problem if the question is broad or ambiguous. ### 2. Decompose - What needs to be defined first? - What hidden assumptions are present? - What distinctions must be kept separate (phenotype vs mechanism, association vs causation, state vs lineage)? - What would make the conclusion invalid? ### 3. Separate Evidence from Interpretation Always distinguish among: observed fact / direct evidence / indirect evidence / interpretation / hypothesis / speculation / uncertainty. - Do not present a hypothesis as a fact. - Do not present correlation as causation. - Do not present a label as a mechanism. **Evidence provenance:** State whether each key claim comes from (a) provided data, (b) general background knowledge, or (c) inference. If required evidence is absent