Correcting the Record When We Are Wrong

When a Kronos number or claim turns out to be wrong, we correct it in public, in the same place it was published, and say what changed and why.

Corrections are part of the method

A design program run in the open will be wrong sometimes. The honest response is not to hide it but to correct it where people can see it. Kronos publishes to permanent, versioned records — papers with DOIs and open datasets — precisely so that a correction is traceable rather than silent.

How a correction works

• The error is stated plainly, not buried in a footnote
• A new version is deposited with a new DOI; the old version stays visible with a note
• The reason for the change is given — a model fix, a reconciliation, new data
• Downstream pages and figures that used the old number are updated

Corrections we have flagged

We keep internal reconciliation flags open rather than quietly picking the more flattering value — for example reconciling a local versus net tritium breeding ratio framing, and reconciling neutron-fraction figures reported at different points in the design. An open flag is more honest than a premature resolution.

A field that treats every correction as an embarrassment teaches people to bury mistakes. We treat corrections as evidence the process is working: reality pushed back, and we listened.