What result would show that a proposed mechanism should not be used?
https://github.com/research-farm/construct/blob/main/notes/walkthrough/00_READING_A_LAB.md
A mechanism is easy to demonstrate when every test is designed around the behavior it favors. That does not show when the mechanism helps, when it is unnecessary, or when its intervention causes harm.
A condition for review
Before testing a mechanism, name a case where it should lose. A pruning rule should lose when it removes something later needed. A safety check should lose when its cost exceeds the risk it reduces. A memory policy should lose when it hides relevant history.
The losing case places a boundary around the claim. It also gives the experiment a chance to disagree with its author.
Questions to carry forward
What is the mechanism expected to improve? What cost does it impose? Under which conditions should the control perform better? Can the scoring rule recognize that loss?
If no losing case can be named, the mechanism may be a preference expressed as code.