THE DORK MANUAL

Read research reports

Read a report’s evidence label before its conclusion. A polished explanation can still be Not checked. Dork distinguishes a researcher’s account from evidence produced by an executed check.

What a check covers

A checked computation supports the inputs and scope that were actually tested. For an ML experiment, inspect the dataset, split, metric definition, seeds, and environment before extending the result to another setting. A measured improvement on one evaluation does not prove a universal advantage.

A Lean-checked result covers the exact formal statement checked in its environment. Confirmation that this statement matches your intended question is a separate sign-off. A checked statement can be irrelevant to your problem.

Open Details to inspect the underlying work, original account, and provenance. If the report does not supply evidence for a claim, keep that claim unverified. A narrative’s words such as “proved” or “verified” do not change the evidence label.

Read how the run ended

An allowance reached, a failed computation, a held result, and a completed assignment are different endings. Read the ending details instead of treating any final message as success. A useful return can be a reproducible counterexample or an obstruction that names what would unblock the approach.

A report can also describe work that was attempted but not checked. Do not count an unexecuted experiment, unread source, or unsupported summary as an observed result.

Respond to the report

Use Useful, Not useful, or Wrong when those judgments are offered. Add a correction that identifies the assumption, passage, or result at issue. Mark read records reading state; it does not endorse correctness.

Use Follow up for a bounded next question. To retain a passage, select the text and use Save Passage; the saved note preserves its original byline. Saving and judging a report do not upgrade its verification status.

Review multiple returns in Triage. Keep report evidence, your usefulness judgment, and statement sign-off as separate decisions.