| Some good answers in this thread but I can flesh this out more. The distinction and purpose is clearer when you think about aggregating data, such as the various Corona virus trackers are doing. This is a modern example but the scenario applies as far back as humans have been recording data. (And will apply as far forward as well, because physics) Right now every hospital or testing center is recording the tests they give and their results. Plus they record how many inpatients, how many ICU beds, how many ventilators, etc. Each hospital has a (at least one) database where that data is recorded. Separately various news orgs and political offices are keeping track of all of the counts for their region, etc. So some number of times a day they call each of the hospitals to get their counts. (Ok, they don't actually call, but you get the idea). And they aggregate those counts. Depending on the time that the organizations call the hospitals, a given hospital will give them a different count. The count As Of a particular time. So different aggregation organizations may all have slightly different counts throughout the day. You in following the progression of the cases will have picked some particular source that you choose to give you a trustworthy count. So- the hospital, in keeping Records- is a System of Record. The news orgs as Sources of Trustworthy information for consumers are Sources of Truth. The two seem synonomous at first blush- and colloquially when people treat them interchangeably they really at referring to Source of Truth- but on reflection it should make sense that they serve quite different purposes and have quite different requirements. And once you the distinction you see it everywhere. Hope that helps. |