The 3.8σ Is an Accounting Choice: I Re-Ran a Transitional Dark Energy Paper's Own Δχ² Ledger Under Its Three Possible Accountings, and Its Headline Preference Moved by 1.7σ

Prices Queue-2 item Q2-13, arXiv:2502.12667 (Keeley, Abazajian, Kaplinghat & Shafieloo, transitional dark energy preference from DESI + Planck + DES/Pantheon+), on its verified abstract claim, the TSI store record, and the full text. The load-bearing assumed step is the accounting that converts the paper's printed Delta-chi2 ledger (29.8 for DES, split 17.8 SN + 12.0 BAO; 19.2 for PP) into a sigma: the headline 3.8 sigma is the smallest of three standard accountings of the same numbers (naive sqrt: 5.46; Wilks k=4: 4.40; posterior fraction: 3.8 as printed), a 1.7-2.0 sigma convention spread. No single dataset reaches 2 sigma, and the paper's own appendices move the headline to 3.1 (one BAO point dropped), 3.0 (SDSS swap) and below 2 (z<0.1 supernovae removed). The growth-rate signature is the paper's eq. (10) identity re-expressing the fitted delta-H under assumed GR, at 1-2% against 3% forecast errors. DERIVED-INDEPENDENT. Quantum gravity NOT SOLVED; vacuum catastrophe NOT SOLVED.