The number everyone already trusts — carried exactly as-is
What “value” means in SSMDE
Value is the classical magnitude your system already produces (temperature, revenue, voltage, model score, strain, heart interval, etc.).
SSMDE never alters this number. This promise is called collapse parity:
phi((m,a)) = m
Where m is the classical magnitude and a is the alignment dial. Even if you add an alignment lane, stripping it always returns the exact original m — no rounding, no smoothing, no “correction.”
Why this matters (humans and systems)
- Finance: revenue remains revenue (not “normalized revenue”).
- Ops/Hardware: voltage stays voltage (no silent rescale).
- Clinical: a heart rhythm interval is not beautified.
- Audit/Legal: you can reconstruct exactly what was claimed at that time.
SSMDE guarantee: the value you send is the value they see.
Do / Don’t
Do
# carry the original number exactly
value := source_reading
Don’t
# do not silently mutate
value := round(source_reading, 1) # NO
value := normalize(source_reading, zscore) # NO
value := "calibrated" without publishing how # NO
If you must transform for engineering reasons (e.g., Kelvin conversion before separate symbolic work), publish that as a separate, declared field or step — never overwrite the source value itself.
Cross-domain examples (copy-ready)
Thermal / process:
value: { temperature_K: 296.42 } # original measurement in Kelvin
Finance / collections:
value: { cash_collected_usd: 18420.77 }
AI / inference:
value: { model_score: 0.912 }
Mechanical / condition monitoring:
value: { bearing_vibration_rms: 0.037 }
Structural:
value: { load_ratio: 0.64 }
Clinical:
value: { heart_rr_interval_ms: 782 }
How value coexists with alignment
Value is the fact; align is the bounded trust/stability view. The presence of a must never distort m:
# internal two-lane view
x := (m, a)
# promise to all downstream readers
phi((m,a)) = m
Legacy dashboards, ETL, and historians keep functioning on value alone, while advanced logic can also read align and band.
Validation checklist (publishers)
[ ] value is byte-for-byte identical to the source reading
[ ] any conversions are declared separately (not overwriting value)
[ ] collapse parity is testable in CI (phi((m,a)) = m)
[ ] timestamp and provenance for value are logged
Quick FAQ
Q: Can I store only the aligned view and drop the original?
A: No. The original value is mandatory; alignment is additive context, not a replacement.
Q: Can I clip outliers in value for safety?
A: Not silently. If you must sanitize (e.g., hardware fault), carry the factual value and flag health; use separate fields for any safety proxies. Do not overwrite value.
Q: What if units differ across sites?
A: Keep value faithful to the source reading; declare any standardized fields separately. SSMDE’s alignment and manifest make cross-site interpretation consistent without mutilating value.
Navigation
Previous: SSMDE — The Four Pillars of an SSMDE Record (1)
Next: SSMDE — Alignment Dial (how stable / how close to danger) (1.2)
Directory of Pages
SSMDE – Table of Contents
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