docs: N × ticks sequence for harness QA → stats (#73)

Lock the four-stage bench path (QA → σ pilot → horizon → sized compare)
so N=1 seed-42 cells are not treated as significance. Fold 2026-09-07
gate scores; 10-tick stays software validation first.

Co-authored-by: Cursor Agent <cursoragent@cursor.com>
Co-authored-by: Jason <jkbennitt@users.noreply.github.com>

Author: jkbennitt

README.md

@@ -260,7 +260,7 @@ python scripts/run_benchmark.py \
 
 ## Benchmark Results
 
-**Live board — `spread-2026-09-06`, scoring 1.2, harness × model** — Crashlanded, 10 ticks, seed 42, N=1. **Content-first — not statistically valid (no confidence intervals). Winners advance to N=4; N=4 is not published.** Ranked by mean composite across the run. Featured numbers live on [rle.appsprout.dev](https://rle.appsprout.dev) and the [HF card](https://huggingface.co/datasets/AppSprout/rle-benchmarks) (`runs/spread-2026-09-06`).
+**Live board — `spread-2026-09-06`, scoring 1.2, harness × model** — Crashlanded, 10 ticks, seed 42, N=1. **Content-first — not statistically valid (no confidence intervals). Winners advance to N=4; N=4 is not published.** Ranked by mean composite across the run. Featured numbers live on [rle.appsprout.dev](https://rle.appsprout.dev) and the [HF card](https://huggingface.co/datasets/AppSprout/rle-benchmarks) (`runs/spread-2026-09-06`). N×ticks sequence (QA → σ → horizon → size): [docs/bench-design-n-ticks.md](docs/bench-design-n-ticks.md).
 
 `felix` here is a technical harness name (the original 7-agent stack), not a product.
 

docs/bench-design-n-ticks.md

@@ -0,0 +1,73 @@
+# RLE bench design — N × ticks (QA → stats)
+
+How we get from a working harness to a number we can defend. **Do not
+conflate the stages.** This memo does not change CLI defaults, authorize a
+matrix, or spend XAI.
+
+## Four stages
+
+| Stage | Question | Typical shape |
+|-------|----------|---------------|
+| **Harness QA** | Do writes, schema, and tooling work? | N=1, 10 ticks, cheap Flash cell |
+| **Variance pilot** | What is within-cell σ? | N=8–10 seeds, 10 ticks, 1–2 keeper cells |
+| **Horizon sweep** | Which tick count stops censoring the metrics we care about? | one cheap cell, N=3 × {10, 25, 50, 100} ticks |
+| **Publishable compare** | Can we detect a chosen δ? | size *after* σ + horizon; paired same-seed sets |
+
+A gate score is not σ. A 10-tick leaderboard is not a horizon. N=4 without
+σ is not a compare.
+
+## Current fact (scoring 1.2)
+
+Almost every published scoring-1.2 cell is **seed 42, N=1** (see
+`spread-2026-09-06`). One observation per cell ⇒ **no within-cell σ**.
+Declaring “significance” without σ is theater.
+
+The live board already labels N=1 as content-first / not statistically
+valid. “Winners advance to N=4” is still not a substitute for measuring
+variance first.
+
+## Jason lock
+
+**10-tick is software / harness validation first.** Longer horizon only
+after the tooling is trustworthy. Do not buy 50- or 100-tick cells to
+“see more game” while gates still miss write paths.
+
+## Locked sequence
+
+1. **Finish gate N=1s.** 10 ticks is OK. Prove schema and write paths
+   (including rejects that are availability, not bugs). Fold results
+   below; leftover unexercised paths stay QA, not stats.
+2. **Variance pilot.** N=8–10 seeds, 10 ticks, 1–2 keeper cells. Estimate
+   σ. Stop if σ is unusable or the cell is still on fire.
+3. **Horizon sweep.** One cheap cell, N=3 × {10, 25, 50, 100} ticks.
+   Pick the **shortest** horizon where the metrics we care about are not
+   mostly censored (neutral 0.5 / no event / no research tree, etc.).
+4. **Only then size the matrix.** Per cell,
+   `n ≈ 16 σ²/δ²` (80% power, α=0.05). Prefer **paired same-seed sets**
+   across harnesses. Do not copy N=4 folklore.
+
+## Cost
+
+Flash cells run about **$0.02–$0.90**. Do not incinerate budget on a full
+harness × model × scenario matrix before σ and horizon are known. Size
+the expensive cells after the cheap ones have spoken.
+
+## Gate fold (2026-09-07)
+
+Both cells: `opencode` × `deepseek-v4-flash`, ~$0.025 console. Pin
+`f818246e` @ `41fd015`. These are **QA**, not σ.
+
+| | Val N=1 | Gates2 N=1 |
+|--|---------|------------|
+| Seed | 42 | **314159** (+ short research/tend bias) |
+| Score | **0.7073** | **0.6803** |
+| Proved | check-zone; work-priority schema | work-priority **6× pass**; doctor+patient **9× tend pass** |
+| Research | unexercised | availability **4× unavailable rejects** (no bench / prereqs) |
+| Tend | unexercised | 9× pass (see above) |
+| Farm already-covered | — | branch not hit |
+| Stockpile-delete | not exercised | not exercised |
+
+Val proved check-zone + work-priority schema. Gates2 proved work-priority
+repeats and tend; research rejects were **no bench / prereqs**, not a
+schema miss. Stockpile-delete and the farm already-covered branch are
+still open QA.