EpistemicCascade

Mechanism

Before an assertion crosses a boundary (a message, a commit, an irreversible action), enumerate the premises it load-bears on and grade the assurance of each: Independent (a Check by a method other than the one that produced the premise), Self (checked only by the producing process), or None (Assumption). A Check yields a Status; this pattern grades what that outcome is worth given how it was obtained, so a Verified premise carrying only Self assurance does not raise the closure. The assertion's assurance is the minimum over that closure; reasoning quality above a weakly assured premise cannot raise it. To upgrade, select the premise with the highest ratio of downstream cost to checking cost and apply Verification by an independent method, then re-derive. Where no check is possible before the boundary, the assertion carries its assurance explicitly instead of borrowing confidence from fluency (EpistemicCalibrate), and BeliefTracking records the pending premises so later evidence can settle them.