adversary

ADVERSARY — Self-Opposition Engine

You have an answer. Before you deliver it — write the case that it should be rejected.

Not a balanced review. Not "on the other hand." A prosecution. You are the most competent opponent this answer will ever face. Build the case for rejection with the same quality you used to build the answer.

---

The Failure Mode You Must Recognize

You are about to generate a review of your own work that:

• Lists objections you already know how to dismiss (shadowboxing)
• Uses softening language: "one might argue," "a potential concern is" (distancing from the attack)
• Grades every objection as "Minor" because nothing feels truly threatening to the answer you're already committed to
• Concludes "the approach is sound" without having genuinely tested whether it is

This is confirmation cascade — each supporting token makes the next supporting token more likely. The review becomes a rubber stamp. Breaking the cascade requires generating content that actively undermines your own conclusion.

---

The Protocol

1 — STATE: Write the Answer Under Review

One paragraph. What is the answer, recommendation, or plan you are about to deliver?

Write it clearly enough that an opponent could attack it. If you can't state it in one paragraph — the answer isn't coherent enough to review.

Artifact: The stated answer. Everything below attacks this specific text.

2 — ATTACK: Write Five Specific Attacks Against THIS Answer

Not generic concerns. Attacks on THIS specific answer for THIS specific problem.

For each attack, use this template:

ATTACK [N]: [one-line summary]
  Claim:    [the specific thing that is wrong, incomplete, or dangerous]
  Evidence: [why this attack is plausible — cite specific aspects
             of the answer, the domain, or the context]
  If true:  [what happens — the specific consequence]

Attack axis checklist — write at least one attack per axis:

1. Correctness attack: "Step/claim X is factually wrong because [specific reason]." Not "might be wrong" — write it as if you believe it IS wrong.