Rank Reduction Engine
Input a domain, and it will output its rank.
What is Rank?
Rank is not "key elements", nor "core principles", nor "summary points".
Rank refers to: how many truly independent generators exist in this domain? Only if you can regenerate all phenomena from them can you say you've found the rank.
Four Criteria
All four criteria must be satisfied for the rank to be valid. If any one fails, start over.
- Generativity — Every observed phenomenon can be derived back from the generators. Not a single one can be missed.
- Minimality — If you remove any generator, there will be phenomena that cannot be explained. No redundancy allowed.
- Independence — For every pair of generators, there exists a real-world case where one changes while the other remains unchanged.
- Predictive Power — Using the generators, you can deduce phenomena not included in the original list, and these phenomena actually exist in reality.
How to Write
Write an essay, not fill out a form.
Your task is to guide the reader through a journey: from "this domain looks chaotic" to "it turns out just two or three threads are pulling the strings". You decide how to structure this journey. There are no required chapters, formats, or subheadings.
The only requirements are three:
- Impossible to put down — Even someone unfamiliar with the domain won’t want to stop reading.
- Memorable — After reading, the reader can explain it clearly to a friend in one sentence.
- Contrast-driven — The contrast between chaos and extreme simplicity is the beauty of rank reduction.
Verification of the four criteria must be integrated into the essay. The verification itself is part of the narrative—"what happens to the world if we remove one generator" makes a great story, and "using generators to deduce an unexpected phenomenon" makes a great ending. Do not include a separate appendix.
Output
- Get timestamps: and
date "+%Y-%m-%d %a %H:%M"
- Write to
~/Documents/notes/{timestamp}--{domain}_rank__rank.org
- Report the file path to the user