2026-09-04

The definitive record isn’t necessarily the definitive truth.

I’ve learned rather more about public footpaths recently than I ever intended to.

One thing has stuck with me.

We have a tendency to assume that because something is recorded in an official system, the thing being recorded must therefore be correct.

But a record is still a record.

Someone created it.

Someone interpreted evidence.

Someone entered information.

Someone may have made a mistake.

That’s true of maps.

Databases.

CRM records.

Asset inventories.

Security systems.

Pretty much everything.

Authoritative data can still be wrong.

Sometimes the real problem isn’t reality failing to match the record.

It’s the record failing to match reality.