  In this article we develop a physical interpretation for the deformed
(doubly) special relativity theories (DSRs), based on a modification of the
theory of measurement in special relativity. We suggest that it is useful to
regard the DSRs as reflecting the manner in which quantum gravity effects
induce Planck-suppressed distortions in the measurement of the "true" energy
and momentum. This interpretation provides a framework for the DSRs that is
manifestly consistent, non-trivial, and in principle falsifiable. However, it
does so at the cost of demoting such theories from the level of "fundamental"
physics to the level of phenomenological models -- models that should in
principle be derivable from whatever theory of quantum gravity one ultimately
chooses to adopt.
