8. Witnessing versus proof

A craft problem he found while trying to write about departure-in-place, and one that applies to everything he writes. Trained to prove: build the case, marshal evidence, close the argument. Witnessing points and lets the reader see, or not. Revised 2026-10-26: was "The koan form of departure-in-place points…"; the book was never koans (James). Whether the proof/witnessing problem still stands as described is to re-check with him. He must drop proof-mode for "witnessing", finds it very hard, and knows it applies to the convivial-computation thesis, the British essays and the coaching too: say what he sees rather than win.

Not a research thread: book material is his (writing-is-his). Recorded so research messages don't push him back into proof-mode.

Stated: his account, or the document author's reading where marked.

Provenance: james-open-threads.md, uploaded by James 2026-10-11, assembled from his own descriptions, autumn 2026 (unverified). Disposition: stated.

Related: departure-in-place, writing-is-his, thread-under-the-threads