Developer finds same wrong number in six files but cannot trace its origin

A software developer discovered that the figure 1,803 — cited as an element count in a planning ledger — could not be reproduced by any mechanical count of the actual file, with an automated script returning 1,774 checked rows instead. A search across the project's planning tree found the identical incorrect value repeated in six separate documents, suggesting the number was copied from file to file rather than independently measured each time. The developer could not identify where the figure originally came from, and the published correction honestly states the number does not reproduce from the source rather than claiming a root cause was found. Rather than fixing the files silently, the developer added inline dated notes to each of the six occurrences, leaving the wrong number visible alongside the correction to preserve auditability. Verbatim transcripts and unrelated grep matches, such as an arXiv identifier containing the digits, were deliberately left untouched to avoid introducing new inaccuracies.