docs: preserve Confidence Engine methodology continuity

docs/current-project-state.md

@@ -85,7 +85,7 @@ The following were built during Experiments 18–25B. They are isolated diagnost
 
 | When you need | Read this |
 |---|---|
-| Returning after a break | `docs/current-handoff.md` (first file) |
+| Returning after a break | **First:** `docs/Confidence_Engine_Return_to_Origin_Methodology_Context_2026-08-18.md` (methodology continuity), then `docs/current-handoff.md` |
 | Where we are now | `docs/current-project-state.md` (this file) |
 | Current principles and reasoning guidance | `docs/current-working-principles.md` |
 | What to keep from code changes during UX work | `.claude/architecture-guardrails.md` |
@@ -110,5 +110,17 @@ First document to read: `docs/current-project-state.md`. Then consult `.claude/a
 Implementation status last checked against source: Experiment 43.
 The current-state document was verified as accurate by focused code inspection of API routes, orchestrator imports/calls, and cross-module traces for all passive classifiers. No corrections were required.
 
-**Branch:** `feature/reasoning-fidelity-v0.8`
-**Current HEAD:** `ec398dc` (experiment: validate evidence versus clarification routing)
+## 10. Post-v0.8 Methodology Learning
+
+Since the handoff document was written, further learning has emerged from Return-to-Origin work (RTO.14–17):
+
+**What proved useful:** An LLM can retain prior focused knowledge, revise uncertainty, and carry coherent reasoning across turns inside a single investigation.
+
+**What was exposed:** Pushing that approach further reproduced the original cumulative-state reconstruction pattern at a lower scope (`focused-investigation state + new answer → LLM rewrites focused state`). This is the same structural assumption we challenged at the global-graph level — just compressed.
+
+**Current working hypothesis (not yet architecture):** The natural reasoning unit is one question → one answer → one interpretation/capture. Each accepted answer produces a small evidence-bearing reasoning fragment, remembered outside the LLM call. The larger investigation understanding emerges from composing those fragments over time. Only directly relevant prior knowledge needs to be supplied when qualifying a specific earlier fragment.
+
+**Next experiment direction:** Test independent user-chosen question/answer deconstruction without accumulated focused state being passed between LLM calls. See `docs/Confidence_Engine_Return_to_Origin_Methodology_Context_2026-08-18.md` for full context.
+
+> **Branch:** `feature/decision-closure-ownership-v0.47`
+> **Current HEAD:** `e1b54e4` (experiment: checkpoint granular answer fragment apparatus)