32 lines
1.5 KiB
Markdown
32 lines
1.5 KiB
Markdown
# RFC-0001: Observation First
|
|
|
|
**Status:** Proposed
|
|
**Phase:** The Bedrock Phase
|
|
|
|
## Abstract
|
|
|
|
This RFC formalizes the principle that observation must precede all other engineering activity within the standard.
|
|
|
|
## Motivation
|
|
|
|
Without a formal commitment to observation-first methodology, the standard risks accepting principles based on authority, tradition, or aesthetic preference rather than verified reality.
|
|
|
|
## Proposal
|
|
|
|
All additions to the Open Engineer standard must begin with an observation — a direct, verifiable encounter with reality. No principle, no vocabulary term, no specification may enter the standard without first identifying the observation(s) that motivate it.
|
|
|
|
## Observation
|
|
|
|
Throughout the development of Open Engineer, the most robust and widely-applicable principles have consistently emerged from direct observation, not from abstract reasoning.
|
|
|
|
## Engineering Principle
|
|
|
|
Observe first. Recognize patterns. Verify against reality. Translate into engineering language. Preserve the resulting understanding.
|
|
|
|
## Reasoning
|
|
|
|
Observation anchors the standard to reality. Without it, the standard becomes an exercise in theory — potentially interesting, but not engineering. Engineering is fundamentally about engaging with reality as it is, not as we wish it to be.
|
|
|
|
## Relationship to Existing Concepts
|
|
|
|
This RFC is the first in the priority chain and underpins all subsequent RFCs. It is closely related to the Translation over Adoption principle (see editorial-principles.md) and the Verification concept (OE-0007). |