FPF Reference

    12. Decide whether mathematics or formal modeling would help

    Preface node heading:12-decide-whether-mathematics-or-formal-modeling-would-help:564

    What this page is

    This is generated FPF reference text from the specification preface or supporting sections. It helps interpret FPF; it is not FPF Reference product documentation.

    Methodology

    Use it to understand how the specification wants to be read, then return to a route, pattern, or work packet for active work. Cite generated IDs only when the wording changes the task decision.

    Content

    Use this when intuition is not enough and a mathematical model, formal declaration, invariant, or explicit structure could make the work easier to review, compare, or improve.

    FPF helps with two opposite mistakes: missing useful mathematics, and using mathematics without saying what structure it preserves and what it loses. It keeps mathematical-lens use, formal declarations of the assumed substrate, mechanism import or realization, and first-principles-to-work carry-through as different claims that may need different patterns.

    Typical first result: a short modeling note that names what is being modeled, the candidate mathematical lens, any formal declaration that is needed, preserved and lost structure, payoff, validation limit, and next project action.

    First inspect: C.29, A.6.0, A.6.1, E.18.1, C.16, C.27, C.30.LCA, C.30.ILC, and the domain pattern that governs the modeled claim.

    Last Updated: 2026-06-08 — upstream FPF commit 093d30e8 (github.com/ailev/FPF)