Assumption Autopsy
Layers Used: Layer 2 (Reasoning Receipt), Layer 4 (Contradiction Challenge)
You will use the Error Taxonomy from Chapter 2, Exercise 1 and the Cascade Map technique from Chapter 3, Exercise 1. Assumptions are hidden errors; finding them uses the same detection muscle.
What You Do
Take your solution from Exercise 2 and systematically expand your assumption list. First, try to find every hidden assumption yourself. Then feed your solution to both Claude and ChatGPT and ask each: "What assumptions am I making that I have not stated?" Compare the AI-identified assumptions against your own list. Create a merged assumption map.
Your expanded assumption list (written before AI). The AI-identified assumptions from both tools. A merged assumption map categorizing each assumption as: (a) found by you only, (b) found by AI only, (c) found by both, (d) found by neither but identified during the merge process. For each assumption, a brief note on whether it is reasonable, risky, or needs to be tested.
I am doing an assumption autopsy on my own solution. I have listed my assumptions, and I also asked Claude and ChatGPT to identify assumptions I missed. Below is my merged assumption map.
Please: (1) Are there STILL more hidden assumptions that none of us -- neither I nor the other AI tools -- identified? (2) For each assumption in my map, rate the risk level (low / medium / high) -- what happens to my solution if this assumption is wrong? (3) Which of my assumptions are actually testable before implementing the solution? (4) Rate my self-awareness -- what percentage of the total assumptions did I find on my own before AI help? (5) Give me a strategy for improving my ability to identify hidden assumptions in future work.
My solution:
My assumption map:
Finally, complete the Thinking Score Card for this exercise: Independent Thinking (1-10), Critical Evaluation (1-10), Reasoning Depth (1-10), Originality (1-10), Self-Awareness (1-10). For each score, give a one-sentence justification.
Discuss with an AI. Question your scores.
Come back when you have your BEST evaluation.
What This Teaches You
You learn that every solution is built on assumptions you did not know you were making. The merger reveals a pattern: you catch assumptions about your own context (cultural, personal, professional) that AI misses, while AI catches structural assumptions you take for granted. This complementary awareness is one of the most valuable outcomes of human-AI collaboration.