# Negative results are results

> A dead hypothesis still leaves the measuring tool behind, and the tool often finds the real result.

Building block · Testing whether an edge is real · found 2026-09-22 · by John Kingola

## What I was looking for

Evidence that market makers pull depth from the book just before quotes move.

## What I found

I built an order-flow study to find depth withdrawal before quote moves. Withdrawal before a move was +6.4% ± 6.6, against +5.0% ± 1.4 with no move: nothing. The hypothesis died.

The instrumentation built to test it produced the actual finding, a map of where makers get picked off. The value came from the measurement apparatus, not the hypothesis.

## The move

I build the measurement to outlive the hypothesis, and I publish when the hypothesis dies.

Web version: https://kingola.dev/notes/negative-results-are-results/