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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.