{"id":"balanced-tree-short-circuit-propagation","text":"The balanced-binary-tree solution achieves O(n) time by short-circuiting: once any subtree returns `-1` (unbalanced), the value propagates upward immediately without recursing into sibling subtrees.","truth_value":"IN","source":"entries/2026/06/06/balanced-binary-tree-solution.md","source_url":"","source_hash":"","justifications":[],"dependents":[],"metadata":{},"created_at":"","updated_at":"","reviewed_at":"","verified_at":"","retracted_at":"","explanation":{"steps":[{"node":"balanced-tree-short-circuit-propagation","truth_value":"IN","reason":"premise"}]}}