research-document

Surprise Index

Surprise Index

Purpose

Track how much an evidence result differed from prior expectation.

Values

low

Observed result was close to prediction.

medium

Observed result differed materially from expectation but did not overturn the framing of the experiment.

high

Observed result challenged the framing, design assumptions, or leading explanation.

Use

The Surprise Index helps prioritize review attention and follow-up experiment selection.

It does not update confidence by itself.