17. Semantic precision, evidence lanes, and knowledge state
The universal model must preserve what was observed, what somebody asserted, what software derived, and what a persona invented. It must also preserve who said it, when it applied, when RTracer learned it, how it was supported, and why a particular view…
Concept & directionLNK
The universal model must preserve what was observed, what somebody asserted, what software derived, and what a persona invented. It must also preserve who said it, when it applied, when RTracer learned it, how it was supported, and why a particular view accepted or rejected it. Without those distinctions, a popular story can silently become maintenance history and an imported registry error can overwrite physical evidence.
The ledger retains source statements; a view applies its own declared trust and privacy policy.
#17.1 Record families must not impersonate one another
| Record family | What it means | Minimum proof boundary |
|---|---|---|
| Observation | A sensing or inspection activity produced a result | Sensor/instrument, procedure, phenomenon, feature of interest, result time, valid time, quality and evidence |
| Assertion | An actor or source stated a proposition | Issuer, subject, predicate/value, scope, source artifact, effective interval and authority context |
| Derived claim | A reproducible method transformed inputs into an output | Input record IDs, algorithm/formula, model/software version, parameters, uncertainty and execution receipt |
| Classification | A scheme assigned a term or class | Scheme/version, authority, jurisdiction, configuration/operation scope, decision basis and status |
| Decision | An authorized actor selected a disposition | Decision maker, options, rule/criteria, inputs, time, scope and appeal/supersession path |
| State interval | A property held over a declared time span | State axis, start/end evidence, confidence, configuration and correction lineage |
| Event | Something bounded happened | Participants, roles, valid/recorded time, place/privacy, cause links, outcome and evidence |
| Creative artifact | A story, persona expression or synthetic media object | Canon/brief, generator/editor, disclosure, rights, source citations and prohibited factual promotions |
#17.2 Orthogonal epistemic axes
| Axis | Seed vocabulary | Question answered |
|---|---|---|
| Truth lane | observed; asserted; derived; creative | What kind of statement is this? |
| Knowledge state | known; unknown; not_observed; not_measured; unavailable; withheld; redacted; disputed; indeterminate; not_applicable | Why is there or is there not a value? |
| Verification state | unverified; syntax_checked; integrity_checked; source_authenticated; authority_checked; corroborated; independently_reproduced; contested | What checks actually occurred? |
| Confidence | probability, interval, ordinal assessment or explicitly unscored | How strongly does the producer believe the claim? |
| Evidence coverage | none; partial; direct; indirect; composite | How much of the proposition is supported by linked evidence? |
| Source role | maker; owner; custodian; operator; maintainer; authority; insurer; organizer; sensor; witness; importer; analyst; AI system | Who produced it and in which role? |
| Status | draft; active; superseded; retracted; rejected; quarantined; expired | How should readers treat this record now? |
| Disclosure | public; community; team; owner; technician; authority; escrow; private; sealed | Who may receive the payload or a redacted projection? |
Confidence is not verification
A model may be highly confident and wrong. A signed source may be authentic and still mistaken. A regulator may be authoritative only inside one jurisdiction. Store each dimension separately; never compress them into one trust_score.#17.3 Bitemporal and corrective semantics
| Field / relation | Required meaning |
|---|---|
| valid_time | When the proposition or state applied in the world; may be an instant, interval or uncertain interval |
| recorded_at | When RTracer accepted the record into custody; never backdated |
| source_created_at | When the source artifact says it was created, with source clock and reliability |
| observed_at / result_time | When sensing occurred versus when a result became available |
| available_from / embargo_until | When a projection may expose the record |
| supersedes | A later statement replaces a prior statement under a declared context without deleting it |
| corrects | A later record fixes an error and states the corrected fields and reason |
| retracts | Issuer withdraws support; the old record remains in history |
| disputes | Another actor challenges all or part of a record and supplies a basis |
| corroborates | Independent evidence supports a bounded proposition; it does not automatically validate unrelated fields |
| derived_from | Output depends on immutable inputs and a reproducible transformation |
| caused_by / contributed_to | Causal hypothesis or established relation with strength, method and reviewer |
Canonical assertion - fields stay explicit
{
"record_type": "rtracer.claim/facet-assertion@1",
"subject_ref": "asset:kun-prague-workhorse",
"predicate_ref": "rtracer.mobility.force_generator",
"value_ref": "rtracer.force.driven_wheel",
"truth_lane": "asserted",
"knowledge_state": "known",
"verification_state": ["source_authenticated"],
"scope": {"configuration_ref": "cfg:kun:2026-07-22"},
"valid_time": {"from": "2026-07-22T00:00:00Z"},
"recorded_at": "2026-07-22T03:00:00Z",
"issuer_ref": "party:maintainer-example",
"evidence_refs": ["sha256:..."],
"confidence": {"kind": "ordinal", "value": "high"},
"visibility_policy_ref": "policy:owner-team"
}#17.4 Trust-policy projection algorithm
- Select records by subject, valid time, recorded time, configuration, operation, jurisdiction and audience.
- Verify schema, vocabulary, digest, signature, custody and source resolution; quarantine malformed or untrusted artifacts.
- Apply authority scope: a source can be authentic but not authorized to establish that proposition.
- Group records by proposition and preserve support, contradiction, retraction, correction and uncertainty links.
- Apply the projection's declared source precedence and corroboration rules; never use an invisible global ranking.
- Produce a value, set of values, range, conflict, unknown state or withheld/redacted marker with an explanation graph.
- Attach the exact policy/version, input record IDs, as-of times and transformation receipt so the view can be rebuilt.