The attempt/score/ledger half existed (run_practice -> ClassTally scored vs
gold); nothing consulted the gate to turn earned reliability into a ratifiable
proposal. Adds core/reliability_gate/propose.py (propose_from_ledger +
RatifiableProposal): for each class, license_for(PROPOSE) emits a proposal iff
its conservative Wilson floor (0 below N_MIN=10) clears theta=0.85. Refusals
never penalize; deterministic; PROPOSAL-ONLY (never a serving mutation).
propose_runner.py closes the loop end-to-end with an aggressive sealed scorer
(resolve_pooled): practice 95c/5w/50r -> ONE proposal (additive, reliability
0.8608>=0.85, 95/100); 5 wrongs tolerated but floor held; rest stayed sealed.
The gold-tethered autonomous contemplation: the engine earns the right to ASK,
not to SERVE. 11 failing-under-violation tests.
Solid: 4 invariants proven by failing-under-violation tests; 84 green; seal
verified. No live hazards (9 search wrongs are sealed eliminations).
Drift: (1) 3a gate is PARTIAL vs spec — round-trip + no-contradiction not wired;
3b's necessary-not-sufficient finding follows -> a self-verification-strengthening
phase must precede Phase 5. (2) class taxonomy: Phase 2 uses gold operation-class
not capability-axis. (3) minor defensive-branch test gaps (no risk).
Lookback/cross-reference audit before any code. No hard blockers. Corrects 3
overclaims of reuse and records the audit:
- reliability ledger is NEW (calibration/ is a grid-search param tuner, not a ledger)
- 0174 eliminate/reevaluate/contemplate is reading-coupled -> 'repoint to solving'
needs generalization, not drop-in reuse
- teaching corridor evidence (MathReaderRefusalEvidence) is reader-refusal-coupled
-> solver-practice proposals need a new evidence type
Constraints recorded: wrong=0 pinned on serving lane by ~25 tests + train_sample
runner -> practice MUST be a separate lane (phasing updated). Alignments noted:
ADR-0165 (lexemes-not-grammar) fulfilled by thin-front-end/thick-solver split;
INV-07 governance = no-self-authorization pre-wired; MAX_TOTAL_BRANCHES precedent
for bounded deterministic search; seal exists.
Resolves Open Question #1. conservative_floor(s,k) = one-sided Wilson lower
bound over COMMITTED trials (k=correct+wrong; refusals excluded so coverage
never penalizes reliability). Constants: z=2.576 (single global pessimism
knob), N_min=10. Range [0,1) — never returns exactly 1.0. float64 rounded
half-to-even to 1e-9 for cross-backend replay. z (estimator skepticism) and
per-class theta (action's required reliability, human-set) are independent
dials; engine touches neither. Worked cost-to-clear table + asymmetry example
included.
Proposed ADR + session derivation doc capturing the 2026-05-28 design
discussion that took GSM8K Phase 5b from 'build another matcher' to a
self-calibrating problem solver.
Session doc (docs/sessions/SESSION-2026-05-28-...): the full journey —
problem (per-shape matchers can't compound; 79% need mul, 0% single-step),
dead-ends (brute-force spurious matches; 0021 is the only single-sentence
case and it's idiosyncratic), and the four pivots that converged on the
solution.
ADR-0175 (Proposed): the decision —
- two regimes: serving (wrong=0, unchanged) vs sealed practice
(attempt-and-eliminate; wrong is the learning signal)
- proof-carrying seal: practice never writes serving; ratification only
- deterministic attempt/refuse gate: reliability(C) / theta_required >= 1
(NOT RL; regimes collapse the reward side so only reliability is quantified)
- per-class calibration ledger of replayable COUNTS + conservative lower
bound; human-set theta ceilings raised only on evidence
- checkability ladder (gold > convergent self-verification > consistency-only),
privilege proportional to reversibility; provenance + gold tether against
correlated self-delusion
- diagnostic refusal routes skill vs knowledge vs ambiguity; three
compounding stores (vault/packs/pruning); self-proving acquisition narrows
human input without bypassing the gate
- five proof-obligation invariants (wrong=0 on serving, no spurious banking,
determinism, no self-authorization, retractability)
Supersedes the matcher-oriented ADR-0174 5b sub-phases; repoints the
0174 eliminate/reevaluate/contemplate substrate from reading to solving.
Open question: shape of conservative_floor + N_min.
