# OE-0007: Verification

**Status:** Draft
**Depends on:** OE-0006 (Understanding)
**Phase:** The Bedrock Phase

## Overview

Verification is the act of testing understanding against reality. It is the mechanism by which understanding earns its status.

## Principle

Understanding is provisional until verified against reality.

No amount of reasoning, no matter how elegant, substitutes for verification. An engineering principle that has not been verified is a hypothesis — potentially valuable, but not yet part of the standard's accepted body of knowledge.

## Relationship to Observation

Verification closes the loop with observation. Observation provides the initial input; verification confirms that the understanding derived from that input accurately reflects reality. This loop is what drives spiral re-evaluation.

## Single Responsibility

This document defines verification. It does not define observation (see OE-0004) or decision-making (see OE-0008). It references them.

## Status

This document establishes verification as a core concept. Detailed verification methodologies will be defined in subsequent specifications.