Truth Fidelity (T)

1. Canonical Definition

Truth Fidelity (T) is the system’s promise of reality. It measures whether information corresponds to the reference conditions the system is structured to interpret and act upon, and whether that correspondence remains reconstructable as information moves across roles, channels, and time. In MSS, reference conditions include factual states and declared operational states that the system is obligated to treat as in force until updated.

In non-institutional systems, “reference promise” denotes the reference constraint implicit in the system’s viability and regulation objective, not an intentional pledge.

Featured Lineage

Alfred Tarski — The Semantic Conception of Truth (1944)
Defined truth through correspondence between statements and reality. MSS extends this by treating fidelity as a required condition for stable interpretation and evaluation.

Karl Popper — The Logic of Scientific Discovery (1959)
Showed that reliability requires ongoing exposure to disconfirmation and update. MSS adapts this by modeling fidelity as a variable sustained through verification and revision discipline.

3. Plainly

Truth Fidelity means information matches the conditions it represents, stays consistent as it circulates, and can be checked when needed. When T is weak, stable interpretation cannot be maintained even if signals and structure look orderly.

4. Scientific Role in Meaning System Science

T provides the reference foundation for the other variables. It stabilizes semantic correspondence and enables alignment and structural transmission to operate against the same baselines. Without adequate fidelity, comparability and reconstruction fail.

5. Relationship to the Variables (T, P, C, D, A)

• T: Defines correspondence and reconstructability of reference conditions.

• P: Signals cannot align reliably when reference conditions vary by role or time.

• C: Structures built on inconsistent baselines produce incompatible outputs.

• D: Inconsistency accumulation increases when fidelity is low or updates are uneven.

• A: Low bandwidth reduces verification throughput and increases tolerance for unresolved inconsistency.

6. Relationship to the Physics of Becoming

L = (T × P × C) / D

T is a stabilizing term in the law. Higher T supports legitimacy when P and C remain proportionate. Reduced T lowers legitimacy by weakening the reference anchor required for compatible interpretation.

7. Application in Transformation Science

Transformation Science uses T to detect instability caused by unverifiable baselines, uneven updates, or non-reconstructable claims, and to model how fidelity interacts with drift dynamics under changing conditions.

8. Application in Transformation Management

Practitioners strengthen T through verification routines, definition discipline, traceability, update governance, and evidence standards that preserve reconstructability across roles and interfaces.

9. Example Failure Modes

• Teams use different baselines for the same metric or policy threshold.

• Claims depend on private knowledge and cannot be reconstructed externally.

• Updates propagate unevenly, creating time-lagged versions of “current” reality.

• Signals reference conditions that are no longer in force.

10. Canonical Cross References

Meaning-System • Interpretation • Meaning System Science • Physics of Becoming • First Law of Moral Proportion • Legitimacy (L) • Signal Alignment (P) • Structural Coherence (C) • Drift (D) • Affective Regulation (A) • Semantics • Interface • Coupling • Meaning Topology • Drift Catalysts (β₆) • Coherence Regulators (γ₆) • Constraint Failure • Closure Failure • Meaning-System Governance • Transformation Science • Transformation Management • LDP-1.0 • 3E Standard™