Proposed Term
Morphological Box (aka Zwicky Box).
⚠️ Recommended catalog name must carry "Box" / "Zwicky". The bare form "morphological analysis" is ambiguous — a strong model defaults to the linguistics meaning (see activation test).
Context
A systematic method (Fritz Zwicky, 1940s–1969) for spanning the full solution space of a multi-dimensional problem: decompose it into independent parameters, list each parameter's possible values, and form candidate solutions by choosing one value per parameter. The "box" is the complete configuration space.
It fills a real gap next to the existing Pugh Matrix anchor in the decision flow:
Morphological Box generates the option space → Pugh Matrix scores it → ADR decides.
LLM Activation Test Result
Run in a clean room (claude -p --setting-sources "" --strict-mcp-config, no project context) across three model tiers, using the new anchor-prior-test skill (PR #587).
| Probe |
Haiku 4.5 |
Sonnet 4.6 |
Opus 4.8 |
| Recognition / richness |
recognized, rich |
recognized, rich |
recognized, rich |
| Anchor action ("design space for a mug") |
parameter×value matrix ✓ + cross-consistency ✓ |
matrix ✓ + CCA ✓ |
matrix ✓ + CCA ✓ |
| Attribution |
Fritz Zwicky (high) |
— |
Fritz Zwicky, 1940s–1969 (high) |
| Bare "morphological analysis" |
innovation / systems eng. |
— |
linguistics ⚠️ |
Verbatim, Opus on "what do you associate with the morphological box (Zwicky box)?":
Fritz Zwicky … Parameters / attributes / dimensions … Values / characteristics / options … Matrix / grid structure … Combinatorial generation … Solution space (the Cartesian product) … Cross-consistency assessment (CCA) … General Morphological Analysis (GMA) … creativity/ideation … engineering & product design … futures/scenario planning.
Verdict (four criteria): Precise ✓ (as "Morphological Box/Zwicky Box"), Rich ✓✓, Consistent ✓ (qualified name), Attributable ✓✓ (Fritz Zwicky). Prior density: strong — recognized + rich + works as an instruction on all tiers including the weakest. Markedly stronger than a recent-but-niche term (contrast "Use-Case 3.0", which all tiers doubted).
Suggested tier: ★★★ under the name Morphological Box (bare "morphological analysis" would be ★★☆ — needs qualification).
Pre-submission Checklist
Proposed Term
Morphological Box (aka Zwicky Box).
Context
A systematic method (Fritz Zwicky, 1940s–1969) for spanning the full solution space of a multi-dimensional problem: decompose it into independent parameters, list each parameter's possible values, and form candidate solutions by choosing one value per parameter. The "box" is the complete configuration space.
It fills a real gap next to the existing Pugh Matrix anchor in the decision flow:
Morphological Box generates the option space → Pugh Matrix scores it → ADR decides.
LLM Activation Test Result
Run in a clean room (
claude -p --setting-sources "" --strict-mcp-config, no project context) across three model tiers, using the newanchor-prior-testskill (PR #587).Verbatim, Opus on "what do you associate with the morphological box (Zwicky box)?":
Verdict (four criteria): Precise ✓ (as "Morphological Box/Zwicky Box"), Rich ✓✓, Consistent ✓ (qualified name), Attributable ✓✓ (Fritz Zwicky). Prior density: strong — recognized + rich + works as an instruction on all tiers including the weakest. Markedly stronger than a recent-but-niche term (contrast "Use-Case 3.0", which all tiers doubted).
Suggested tier: ★★★ under the name Morphological Box (bare "morphological analysis" would be ★★☆ — needs qualification).
Pre-submission Checklist