The Book of Works
The verification stack
Every change proves itself: a type gate, a test, a render, a measurement. Pick the cheapest proof that would catch the lie.
Every change tells you it works; your job is to pick the cheapest instrument that would catch it lying. The stack runs from free to expensive: the type gate and linter catch the mechanical, tests catch the logical, a rendered screen catches what tests cannot see, and an end-to-end run through the real path catches what everything else assumed. Climb only as high as the risk requires, but never stop at looks-done.
Know each layer's blind spot, because that is where failures live. A compile proves nothing about behavior. Green tests prove only what the tests ask. A screenshot of the wrong state proves the wrong thing beautifully. The verification that counts exercises the path a real user takes, with real data, and sometimes the strongest move is proving the negative: show that the forbidden path actually fails.
How to practice it
Cheapest instrument that catches the lie.
Typo-level change, type gate. Logic, a test. Layout, a render. Integration, the real path end to end. Match cost to risk.
Respect the blind spots.
Ask what each green light cannot see. The dangerous bugs are the ones your current layer is structurally unable to catch.
Verify with real data.
Empty states and happy paths render beautifully and prove nothing. Seed the representative case before you trust the picture.
Prove the negative too.
The login wall works only if the no-login path fails. Occasionally verify that what must not work, doesn't.
Deep scripture: Codeuteronomy VIII — No claim about the world stands without a fresh observation