Reality Is the Authority

QLens begins by separating three things that are often collapsed:

• Reality: what is.
• Evidence: what becomes available for examination.
• Understanding: the model formed by interpreting evidence.

Reality does not become true because a repository records it. A model does not become real because a committee approves it. A conclusion does not become immune from correction because it has been published.

This distinction establishes the direction of authority:

Reality → Evidence → Reasoning → Understanding

The arrow must never be reversed. Researchers may select evidence poorly, reason incorrectly, or overstate a conclusion. Reality is not obligated to conform.

Therefore QLens does not describe itself as a system of truth storage. It is a system for preserving accountable attempts to understand Reality.