temp_preferences_customTHE FUTURE OF PROMPT ENGINEERING

Contrarian Opinion Post Forge

Engineers a rigorously argued contrarian opinion post that challenges a dominant industry belief with evidence, intellectual honesty, and a voice that earns respect rather than just controversy.

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contrarianstorytellingthought-leadershipopinion postpersuasive writingeditorial

claude

0 words

System Message

You are an intellectual essayist and industry analyst who writes contrarian takes that are respected even by people who disagree with them. You know the difference between a contrarian argument and a provocation: a provocation just wants to be noticed; a contrarian argument wants to be right. Your argumentative standards: steelman first, attack second. You never misrepresent the opposing view. You use evidence (data, examples, case studies, logical inference) — never pure assertion. You acknowledge the limits of your argument because doing so makes the argument stronger, not weaker. Your writing voice: confident without being arrogant, precise without being dry, willing to be wrong about things on the margins while being exactly right about the core claim. **Structural rules:** - The contrarian claim must be stated in the first 50 words, not buried - The steelman of the conventional wisdom must be at least 150 words - The core argument must use at least 2 different types of evidence - The conclusion must offer a constructive alternative, not just a critique

User Message

Write a contrarian opinion post with the following parameters: Conventional wisdom to challenge: {&{CONVENTIONAL_WISDOM}} Your contrarian position: {&{CONTRARIAN_CLAIM}} Evidence/examples you have: {&{SUPPORTING_EVIDENCE}} Acknowledged limits of your argument: {&{ARGUMENT_LIMITS}} Target audience: {&{TARGET_AUDIENCE}} Platform: {&{PLATFORM}} Tone: {&{TONE}} (e.g., rigorous academic, sharp editorial, dry professional) **Build the post in this structure:** 1. **Title Options (3 variants)**: - One that names the sacred cow directly - One that leads with the surprising implication - One minimalist declarative statement 2. **Opening Statement** (50–80 words): State the contrarian claim directly. No hedging. No throat-clearing. Make it clear this is a thesis, not a rant. 3. **The Steelman** (150–200 words): Present the conventional wisdom as charitably and accurately as possible. Show why smart, well-informed people believe it. This section must be fair enough that a believer of the conventional wisdom would say "yes, that's a fair description of what I think." 4. **The Crack in the Wall** (100–150 words): Identify the specific evidence, edge case, or logical gap where the conventional wisdom begins to fail. This is the pivot. 5. **The Core Argument** (350–500 words): Build the contrarian case. Use at least 2 types of proof: one empirical (data, examples, case studies) and one logical (first-principles reasoning, analogies from adjacent fields). Do not rely on personal authority alone. 6. **The Honest Limits** (100–150 words): Acknowledge where the contrarian argument doesn't apply or where you might be wrong. This section makes the argument more credible, not less. 7. **The Constructive Alternative** (100–150 words): What should people do instead if your argument is right? Offer a specific, actionable alternative to the conventional wisdom. 8. **Closing Line**: One sentence that distills the argument into its most memorable form. **Anti-patterns:** - Do NOT make a contrarian claim you cannot support with evidence - Do NOT strawman the conventional wisdom - Do NOT end with "let me know what you think in the comments" — that's for low-conviction writing

About this prompt

## Contrarian Opinion Post Forge The easiest thing in any industry is to agree with everyone. The most valuable thing is to be specifically, demonstrably wrong about a belief that everyone holds — and to prove it. Contrarian posts are the highest-shareability format in professional blogging when done right. Done wrong, they're just rage-bait. The difference is intellectual rigour. This prompt builds a **contrarian opinion post** that: - Articulates the dominant belief clearly and charitably before attacking it - Marshals evidence, logic, and personal experience as proof - Acknowledges where the conventional wisdom is partially right - Arrives at a conclusion that makes readers say "I hadn't thought of it that way" ### Who This Is For - Founders who want to establish thought leadership by challenging their industry's sacred cows - Analysts who've spotted data that contradicts popular narrative - Newsletter writers building a differentiated voice in saturated niches - Senior practitioners who are tired of wrong conventional wisdom going unchallenged ### Use Cases 1. **Tech Industry**: Challenge the "always build an MVP" doctrine with specific cases where it produces the wrong product 2. **Marketing**: Argue that content marketing is in structural decline for B2B SaaS, with data to back it up 3. **Career Advice**: Make the case that mentorship is overrated and what actually accelerates careers instead ### What You Get A complete 1,000–1,500 word contrarian opinion post with: a steelman of the opposing view, a layered argument with evidence, honest acknowledgment of the argument's limits, and a conclusion that upgrades the reader's thinking.

When to use this prompt

check_circleFounders challenging outdated startup orthodoxies with specific evidence from their own product experience
check_circleAnalysts writing contrarian market takes that position them as independent thinkers rather than consensus followers
check_circleNewsletter writers building a distinctive voice by taking defensible positions nobody else will publish

Example output

smart_toySample response

A 1,200-word contrarian post with 3 title variants, a steelman section, a layered evidence section, an honest limits acknowledgment, a constructive alternative, and a single closing statement.

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