Seednote
Claim and evidence
What someone asserts, and what they offer in support
An assertion about a referent, kept with its source and authority, and the evidence offered for it; neither makes the assertion true.
RSM ID Learning Center2 min read
A claim is an assertion that a Semantic Space makes about a referent: this field drew so much water, this probe was calibrated on this date, this formation met its target. Evidence is what is offered in support — observations, datasets, attestations, signed reports. RSM ID cares about both because federation multiplies them. Many independently governed spaces will say things about the same farm or watershed, and a reader needs to know, for each statement, who said it, under which authority, and on what basis.
The identity layer does not judge claims. A shared RID establishes that two assertions are about the same referent; it says nothing about whether they agree, and nothing about which is correct. Weighing evidence, resolving disputes, and deciding what counts as verified belong to the parties and governance processes concerned. How contradictory claims are mediated across spaces is not yet specified (SPEC-06).
Example
In 2034 the formation coordination space asserts that irrigation withdrawals from Cedar Creek fell by the agreed amount, citing an impact report and metered data. The county water office space asserts, about the same outcome 451.FVB2FXJAH0YQ87GN (reduced withdrawals), that its permit records do not support the figure. Both assertions name the same RID, each keeps its own source and authority, and an independent assessor's signed assessment becomes a third assertion with its own evidence. None of them is erased, and none becomes true merely because it was recorded.
A common misconception
“Provenance makes a claim authoritative.” Provenance tells you where a claim came from. Whether its source has authority over that subject, and whether its evidence is sufficient, are separate questions. Atlas may aggregate claims from many spaces, but it preserves their sources rather than treating the combination as its own canonical knowledge (§10.3).
Related concepts
Every claim carries provenance. Observations from instruments are a common kind of evidence. An outcome is not a claim separates what was pursued, measured, attested, and verified; the Viewgraph From instrument to outcome draws the chain.
In the specification
Relationships and assertion authority: Document 08 §7.4. Atlas preserves provenance: §10.3. Reconciliation needs evidence and authority: §15.3. Remote assertions: §18.8.