What question did this study set out to answer?

The aim is to formalize how mastery claims can be maintained over time despite uncertainty and representational changes.

January 27, 2026Open Access

Epistemic Maintenance Theory (EMT)

Key Points

The aim is to formalize how mastery claims can be maintained over time despite uncertainty and representational changes.
Defines the framework of Epistemic Maintenance Theory (EMT)
Draws upon the Unified Mastery Meta-Theory (UMMT)
Analyzes the implications of partial observability and inference uncertainty
Establishes that no finite evaluation can permanently certify mastery
Demonstrates that stewardship depends on belief states that are uncertain
Highlights the limitations of understanding mastery under constrained identifiability

Abstract

Epistemic Maintenance Theory (EMT) formalizes the post-learning regime in which the validity of mastery claims must be preserved over time under partial observability, representational drift, and irreducible inference uncertainty. Derived from the Unified Mastery Meta-Theory (UMMT), EMT shows that no finite evaluation or intervention can permanently certify mastery and that long-term stewardship operates on belief states constrained by identifiability limits rather than on ground-truth mastery states.

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