Concept · Glossary
Interpretation
Understand interpretation in ordinary language first. The exact definition and manuscript source follow below.
In ordinary words
The meaning assigned to the render: what happened because, what it means, what it says about me or us, and where the story goes next.
What this does not prove
Use this as a handle for noticing a pattern, not as a label that settles a person or event.
A trace can constrain one question while leaving another open.
The budget-call notes support the claim that finance restricted what Lewis could say. They do not prove that Lewis believed Maya deserved the promotion. His later email supports the claim that he intended to restart the process. It does not establish that he would have succeeded, or that the delay did no harm. The same trace may be strong evidence for chronology and weak evidence for motive.
This is why arguments about records often become strangely total. One person produces a message showing that notice was sent and treats it as proof that the recipient understood. Another produces a photograph showing that everyone smiled and treats it as proof that the evening was happy.
A medical record shows that pain was rated as mild and is treated as proof that the pain was mild. Minutes show no objection and are treated as proof that no one objected.
The record may accurately preserve what entered the record. That is not always the same as what happened.
A disciplined reader asks what job the trace can legitimately perform. Does it establish timing? Authorship? Presence? A stated intention? A formal decision? A bodily state? A pattern? Does it merely show that someone later described the event in a particular way?
The more consequence we ask a trace to carry, the more carefully we must define the claim.