Falsifiability Deadlines.instructions

---
description: "Every new or edited brain artefact (instruction / skill / prompt / agent) must declare a specific falsification deadline — a literal date, an observable event, or count+time bound — not 'after N passes' or 'when conditions warrant'."
applyTo: "**/.github/instructions/**,**/.github/skills/**,**/.github/prompts/**,**/.github/agents/**"
lastReviewed: 2026-05-26
---

# Falsifiability deadlines

Every brain artefact must commit to a **specific falsification deadline** at creation time, not "after N passes" or "when conditions warrant." Vague kill-criteria let an artefact's falsification be indefinitely deferred while the artefact accumulates token cost and authority in the brain.

## The rule

Every artefact's `## Falsifiability` or `## Would Revise If` section must include at least one of:

1. **Date-based deadline**: "If <condition> not met by <YYYY-MM-DD>, sunset this artefact."
2. **Event-based trigger**: "If <observable event> occurs without the artefact firing as designed, sunset this artefact."
3. **Count-based with time bound**: "If after N <units> AND by <YYYY-MM-DD>, <condition> hasn't held, sunset this artefact." (N-only is **not** sufficient.)

The deadline must be specific enough that "did it happen?" is answerable by a third party reading the brain six months later.

## What this prevents

| Failure mode | Without deadline | With deadline |
|---|---|---|
| Skill never invoked, no one notices | Accumulates in brain indefinitely | At deadline, gets evaluated; if unused, sunsets |
| Skill invoked but never produces signal | No clock running | Deadline forces explicit "did it produce signal?" check |
| Author hopes future evidence will materialise | Hope continues indefinitely | Hope expires on date D |
| Reader can't tell if artefact is alive or stalled | No sunset clock | Sunset triggers on a known schedule |

## What this doesn't require

- Aggressive deadlines. "60 days from creation" is fine if that's a realistic test window. The point is *commitment*, not haste.
- Single-point falsification. An artefact can have multiple falsification paths (date + event, or multiple events).
- Retroactive application to *all* existing artefacts. Files created before 2026-05-24 are unaffected until separately swept. The bulk sweep is a follow-up to this proposal.

## Template

Add to the artefact's `## Falsifiability` (skills) or `## Would Revise If` (instructions) section: