Glossary · Evaluator mechanisms
Strongest affordable mechanism
2InstrumentThe rule that amends strongest-oracle-per-criterion for cost and regime: choose the strongest affordable mechanism per criterion per regime, then use different mechanisms across development and certification when independence is valuable.
Also called: strongest-oracle-per-criterion rule
Defined in
Handbook · PracticeVerifiability engineeringDon't ask whether a domain is verifiable. Decompose it, make artifacts emit evidence, compile what you can, and keep the residue honest.Related terms
- Verifiability engineering
- Moving each property of a task toward the strongest evidence channel its semantics permit, through four moves (decompose, instrument, compile, retain the residue honestly), instead of asking whether a whole domain is verifiable.
- Verification hierarchy
- Formal verification > execution feedback > learned judges > intrinsic signals: a prior over expected grounding strength, not a verdict on validity. Human judgment sits outside the ladder as the external frontier and trust root.
Where it comes up
- Mechanism familiesHandbook · Instrument
- CrosswalkHandbook · Reference