Obvious Stuff

Facts

Facts at Obvious Stuff

Facts → Common Knowledge → Truth

This page explains how we use the word “Fact” on ObviousStuff.com:
what qualifies, how we source it, how we maintain it, and how you can challenge it.

Purpose
Define our standard for factual claims.

Scope
Evidence-based civic and practical topics.

Updated
Nov 2025

1. What We Mean by “Fact”

A Fact on Obvious Stuff is a short statement about the world that meets all of these tests:

  • Verifiable: At least one credible source reports it, and others can independently check it.
  • Scoped: It says where and when it applies, or clearly implies it.
  • Non-normative: It describes what is, not what should be.
  • Transparent: Sources, methods, and caveats are visible.
Type of statement Is it a “Fact” here? Example pattern
Descriptive data Yes, if sourced and time-stamped. “In YEAR, COUNTRY spent about X% of GDP on healthcare (Source…).”
Historical event Yes. “On DATE, LAW/PROGRAM went into effect in JURISDICTION (Source…).”
Model estimate / projection Sometimes. Labeled as an estimate with methodology. “According to MODEL NAME, policy X is estimated to reduce Y by Z% by YEAR (Source…).”
Value judgment No. Belongs in analysis, not in Facts. “Policy X is unjust / efficient / immoral…” → not a Fact entry.
Prediction without method No. “Policy X will definitely fix the housing crisis.” → not a Fact.

Facts are the building blocks for our other formats:
CODE Reviews
ATLAS Analyses
Book Ends
and topic pages that aim at “Common Knowledge” and “Truth.”

2. How Facts Fit into Our Layers

We distinguish between Facts, Common Knowledge, and Truth (working).
This page focuses on the first layer.

Layer What it is here What you’ll see on the site
Facts Individual statements with citations, time and scope clearly marked. Fact cards, footnotes, and “Fact blocks” inside CODE/ATLAS posts.
Common Knowledge Clusters of facts that many people know and depend on as a shared baseline. “Common Knowledge” pages summarizing key baselines for a topic.
Truth (Working) Our current best synthesis of facts, values, trade-offs, and uncertainty. Conclusion sections of CODE/ATLAS posts, Book Ends, and synthesis essays.

3. Anatomy of a Fact Entry

Each Fact we publish should be able to stand on its own as a small reference object.
Internally, we treat a Fact like a miniature data sheet:

Field What it captures Example (pattern)
Fact ID / Slug Short, stable identifier. us-health-spending-2023-oecd
Statement The fact in one sentence, with scope and time. “In YEAR, the U.S. spent about X% of GDP on healthcare (Source…).”
Scope Where and when it applies. Country, region, population, date range.
Sources Links to data, reports, and documents. At least one primary data source; note if only secondary sources are available.
Method notes Key definitions and caveats. How the metric is defined, known limitations, revisions.
Reliability Quick sense of stability and quality. Stable / Tentative / Disputed (with a short note).
Last checked When we last verified the statement against sources. Date stamp; optional link to changelog.
Example: how a Fact might appear in a post

Fact: “In YEAR, COUNTRY spent about X% of its GDP on healthcare, the highest share among OECD countries.”

  • Scope: OECD member countries, calendar year YEAR.
  • Source: [OECD Health Statistics YEAR – Table XYZ].
  • Method note: Includes both public and private spending; excludes long-term care outside the health account.
  • Reliability: Stable (annual time series from a major statistical agency).
  • Last checked: Month YEAR.

4. Fact Standards & Ground Rules

To be published as a Fact, a statement must pass these checks:

Standard Rule Example of passing / failing
Clarity Define the key terms. Avoid vague qualifiers (“huge,” “tiny,” “massive”). Pass: “Median home prices in CITY reached \$X in YEAR (Source…).”
Fail: “Home prices are out of control.”
Source quality Prefer primary data and well-maintained statistical series; note when we rely on secondary summaries. Pass: National statistics office, peer-reviewed studies, reputable datasets.
Fail: Anonymous social media posts.
Attribution Credit the institution or dataset, not just a screenshot or quote. Pass: “According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics…”
Fail: “I saw a chart that said…”
Time-bound Facts that can change over time must include a date or period. Pass: “As of YEAR, the statutory minimum wage in STATE was \$X/hour.”
Fail: “The minimum wage is \$X” (no date).
Non-normative Stick to description; keep opinions and prescriptions in analysis sections. Pass: “Policy X reduced measured emissions by Y% between YEARS.”
Fail: “Policy X is obviously the best solution.”

Under the hood, we often use our CODE framework and analysis agents
to stress-test candidate Facts before they are promoted into the library.

5. How a Statement Becomes (and Stops Being) a Fact

  1. Intake: A claim shows up in a debate, article, or question.
  2. Initial check: We search for high-quality sources and look for
    existing datasets or official statistics.
  3. Clarify & rephrase: We rewrite the claim into a precise, scoped statement.
  4. Source & method notes: We attach links, definitions, and caveats.
  5. Label & tag: The Fact is tagged by topic (e.g., healthcare, housing, elections)
    and reliability (stable / tentative / disputed).
  6. Publish: The Fact appears in the site’s Fact library and can be reused in posts.
  7. Review: At intervals (or when new evidence appears), we revisit the Fact:
    confirm, revise, or retire it.
Living, not frozen.

If new data contradicts a Fact, we don’t bury the change. We update the entry and
note that it has changed. Facts can move from “stable” to “disputed” and back again
as evidence improves.

6. How We Use Facts Across the Site

Facts show up in a few different places:

  • Fact blocks inside CODE reviews: quick reference boxes that anchor key claims.
  • Fact sections inside ATLAS analyses: grounding for each sphere (technical data, legal baselines, etc.).
  • Standalone Fact collections by topic: pages that assemble multiple Facts into a baseline for a question.
Example patterns for Fact collections (you fill in the actual facts)
  • Healthcare Costs – Fact Set: spending levels, outcome metrics, coverage rates, trend lines.
  • Housing & Zoning – Fact Set: construction rates, price-to-income ratios, zoning categories, vacancy rates.
  • Elections & Turnout – Fact Set: registration rates, turnout by group, voting methods allowed.

These collections become the “Common Knowledge” layer for each topic:
they are the facts we expect to be on the table before we argue about solutions.

7. How to Challenge or Improve a Fact

We expect some Facts to be incomplete, outdated, or misinterpreted over time.
Corrections and challenges are part of the process.

If you notice… What we ask from you What we’ll do
A broken or paywalled source link. Send the Fact ID and the broken link. Update to a working or more accessible source if possible.
More recent or better data. Share the newer dataset or report and how it differs. Review and update the Fact; note the revision in the entry.
An error (misquote, wrong number, wrong unit). Point to the specific discrepancy and your source. Correct the statement and log the change.
Disagreement about interpretation or meaning. Flag that this is interpretation, not the raw data. Move the disagreement into analysis or a new CODE/ATLAS post rather than into the Fact itself.

You can use our contact form or comment areas to flag issues.
Please include the Fact ID, a link, and a short note on what you think needs to change.

8. Implementation Notes (for the curious)

Behind the scenes, you can treat each Fact as its own object (for example, a custom post type in WordPress)
with fields for statement, scope, sources, reliability, and tags.
The content on this page is the contract for how those objects should behave.

  • Create a “Fact” post type or tag to store individual entries.
  • Standardize field names so Facts can be reused across CODE and ATLAS posts.
  • Maintain a simple internal changelog when a Fact is updated or retired.

As the library grows, this page will stay the reference point:
if something is called a “Fact” on Obvious Stuff, it should meet the standards described above.