# Contradiction Partial-Reset Protocol -- Contradiction-Gate Operational Definition

**Scope:** Contradiction-gate computation, sub-inquiry mechanics, recursion bounds ONLY. Yield math lives in `probabilistic_recall_miss.md`; scope in `charter_lock_protocol.md`; framing in `saturation_typology.md`; anti-patterns in `anti_patterns_volume_floor.md`.

## 1. Load-bearing citation

O'Reilly, M. & Parker, N. (2013). "'Unsatisfactory Saturation': a critical exploration of the notion of saturated sample sizes in qualitative research." *Qualitative Research* 13(2):190-197.

O'Reilly and Parker establish the negative-case-analysis requirement: a saturation claim that leaves a surfaced contradiction unresolved is methodologically indefensible. Partial reset is the architectural absorption of that critique.

## 2. Why partial, not global

A contradiction invalidates the local region the evidence touches, not the entire inquiry. Global reset is wasteful and creates a pathological incentive to suppress contradictions. Partial reset preserves the Bayesian insight that expected information gain is sharply concentrated in the disturbed region: a contradictory claim shifts the posterior over the disturbed sub-space far more than equivalent effort outside it. Global reset is also the opposite-direction Librarian failure: "always more to find, never close." Partial reset is how the Governor closes in the presence of historical contradictions without ignoring them.

## 3. Sub-inquiry construction

When the Adversarial Pass Engine writes `contradicted` or `qualified`, the Governor opens a sub-inquiry with a narrower local Charter:

- **Inherits** parent alpha and drift rule.
- **Narrows** claim-set to {disturbed claim, contradicting claim, any structurally entailed claims}.
- **Narrows** discipline-domain to the disciplines that produced or could produce the contradicting evidence.
- **Narrows** time-window and population to the contradiction's locality.

A `qualified` verdict opens a sub-inquiry at REDUCED severity -- same mechanism, narrower envelope, may close faster.

## 4. Closure

A sub-inquiry closes iff its own yield AND scope gates are CLOSED at the parent's alpha. The sub-inquiry does NOT recursively gate on its own contradictions. A `sub_inquiry_closed` record is written with terminal posteriors and the adversarial verdict that opened it.

## 5. Parent blocking invariant

The parent's contradiction gate is OPEN as long as ANY sub-inquiry has status `sub_inquiry_open`. The parent CANNOT emit STOP while any sub-inquiry is unresolved. Phase 8.5 evaluator checks "sub_inquiry_closed count equals or exceeds contradicted + qualified verdict count."

## 6. Recursion depth limit

Recursion is bounded at depth 2: parent (0) -> sub-inquiry (1) -> sub-sub-inquiry (2). If a depth-2 sub-inquiry surfaces its own contradiction, the Governor does NOT open a depth-3 sub-inquiry. It writes a `RECURSION_DEPTH_REACHED` event and escalates to the operator via Claim-Typing Engine. The operator decides whether to accept, restructure the Charter, or split the claim-space.

## 7. What this mechanism is NOT

- NOT a license to ignore contradictions at recursion limit; escalated, not silenced.
- NOT a fast-close path; sub-inquiries satisfy the full probabilistic recall-miss bound at parent alpha.
- NOT interchangeable with drift amendments; drift is envelope shape, contradiction is evidence collision within the envelope.
