{"schema":"https://ver.cy/schemas/card/1.0.0","id":"vr.tr.nothing","code":"thing-nothing","url":"https://ver.cy/models/thing/nothing/","name":"nothing","alternateNames":["nil","nix","nada","null","aught","cipher","cypher","goose egg","naught","zero","zilch","zip"],"kind":"thing","status":"published","version":"0.2.0-wave.2","language":"en","classifiers":{"family":"Thing Registry","category":"Cross-cutting context","entryKind":"noun.quantity","plane":"XCT","domain":["XCT.QTY"],"industry":[],"navPath":"","tags":[],"facets":{"substance":"abstract","origin":"conceptual","agency":"inert","mobility":"not-applicable","scale":"not-applicable","affordances":["observable"]}},"whatItIs":"A quantity of no amount or importance, expressed in words such as nil, nix, nada, null, aught and cipher, and denoted in mathematics by zero, in logic by the empty set or absence, in computing by null values and empty results, and in sport and everyday speech by scores and answers of nothing; the concept of nothing raises questions in philosophy about absence and non-being, in mathematics about zero and the empty set, and in computing about representing missing information.","purpose":"Let an agent explain nothing as a quantity and concept across language, mathematics, computing and philosophy, distinguish zero, empty and null, support handling of empty and missing values, and support learning.","scope":{"in":[],"out":[],"boundaries":[]},"distinguishingFeatures":["Absence","Many words","Formalised as zero and empty set","Philosophical depth"],"structure":{"bundles":[{"id":"understand","name":"Understand","description":"What nothing is.","layers":[{"id":"concept","name":"Concept","description":"Concept and words.","findings":[{"id":"concept-finding","name":"Concept","description":"Concept.","questions":[{"text":"What does nothing mean as a quantity, and how do nil, null, zero, nada and cipher differ in usage?","kind":"definition"},{"text":"Which sense of nothing is meant?","kind":"boundary"}]}]},{"id":"formal","name":"Formal","description":"Zero and the empty set.","findings":[{"id":"formal-finding","name":"Formal","description":"Formal.","questions":[{"text":"How do zero and the empty set formalise nothing in mathematics, and how do they differ?","kind":"definition"},{"text":"Which entry fits zero?","kind":"action"}]}]}]},{"id":"computing","name":"Computing","description":"Nothing in computing.","layers":[{"id":"null","name":"Null","description":"Null and missing values.","findings":[{"id":"null-finding","name":"Null","description":"Null.","questions":[{"text":"How should null, empty and zero values be distinguished and handled in this data or program?","kind":"action"},{"text":"Which entry fits data quality?","kind":"action"}]}]},{"id":"errors","name":"Errors","description":"Null errors.","findings":[{"id":"errors-finding","name":"Errors","description":"Errors.","questions":[{"text":"Why do null references cause errors, and how are they avoided?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which entry fits programming errors?","kind":"action"}]}]}]},{"id":"philosophy","name":"Philosophy","description":"Philosophy of nothing.","layers":[{"id":"nonbeing","name":"Non-being","description":"Absence and non-being.","findings":[{"id":"nonbeing-finding","name":"Non-being","description":"Non-being.","questions":[{"text":"How have philosophers treated nothing and non-being, with positions attributed?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which findings are contested?","kind":"boundary"}]}]},{"id":"physics","name":"Physics","description":"Vacuum and physics.","findings":[{"id":"physics-finding","name":"Physics","description":"Physics.","questions":[{"text":"Is empty space nothing, according to physics?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which entry fits vacuum?","kind":"action"}]}]}]},{"id":"learn","name":"Learn","description":"History and teaching.","layers":[{"id":"history","name":"History","description":"History of zero.","findings":[{"id":"history-finding","name":"History","description":"History.","questions":[{"text":"How did the concept and symbol of zero develop across cultures?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which references are standard?","kind":"provenance"}]}]},{"id":"teach","name":"Teach","description":"Teaching.","findings":[{"id":"teach-finding","name":"Teach","description":"Teaching.","questions":[{"text":"How can zero and nothing be taught to children and programmers?","kind":"action"},{"text":"Which misconceptions arise?","kind":"provenance"}]}]}]}]},"agentConduct":{"may":["Explain nothing as a quantity and concept across language, mathematics, computing and philosophy.","Distinguish zero, the empty set, null values and missing data.","Help handle null and empty results correctly in data the agent is authorised to work on."],"mustNot":["Treat missing data as zero in records that affect people.","Present an empty search result as proof that something does not exist.","Hide null-handling errors in software or reports.","Treat nothing as a thing in reasoning to reach false conclusions."],"requiresHuman":["Deciding that a person's record or entitlement is nil because data is missing."]},"ethics":{"considerations":["Confusing missing with zero can deny people benefits or misstate their records.","Philosophical ideas of nothingness matter in several religious traditions."],"affectedParties":["People with incomplete records","Data users","Students"]},"owners":{"steward":"Nobody: a concept held in common.","roles":[],"masterSystems":[]},"relations":[{"target":"oewn-13598185-n","type":"parent","note":"registry parent class"},{"target":"quantity","type":"related","note":"category"},{"target":"remainder","type":"related","note":"zero remainder in division"},{"target":"multiplier","type":"related","note":"multiplication by zero"},{"target":"error","type":"related","note":"null errors in software"}],"interaction":{"identity":{"applicability":"required","items":["Vercy registry: vr.tr.nothing","Open English WordNet: oewn-13762308-n"]},"properties":{"applicability":"not-applicable","items":[]},"recognition":{"applicability":"optional","items":["Quantity of no amount","Zero, nil, null, empty set","Zero is a number; the empty set is a set; null marks missing data; a vacuum is physical emptiness","Not physical; an absence."]},"capabilities":{"applicability":"required","items":["explain the concept across fields","distinguish zero, empty and null","support handling of missing values","support learning"]},"hazards":{"applicability":"required","items":["Confusing zero with missing data","Null-related software errors","Treating nothing as a thing in reasoning"]},"interfaces":{"applicability":"required","items":["Mathematical conventions for zero and the empty set","Data standards for null and missing values","No regulation of the concept"]},"context":{"applicability":"required","items":["Absence of quantity.","nothing in everyday speech and scores","zero in mathematics","the empty set and empty results","null and missing values in computing","nothingness in philosophy"]}},"sources":[{"title":"Open English WordNet 2024, synset oewn-13762308-n","url":"https://en-word.net/id/oewn-13762308-n","note":"sense and gloss of the concept"},{"title":"Wiktionary: nothing","url":"https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/nothing","note":"word senses and usage"}],"openQuestions":["Should zero be a separate entry?","How should data standards be linked?","How should philosophical sources be linked?"],"resources":{"spec":"/models/things/publications/thing-nothing/spec.json"},"provenance":{"origin":"thing registry research (pass 2)","builtFrom":["models/things/publications/thing-nothing/spec.json"],"providers":["Claude"],"researchStatus":"unreviewed","generatedAt":"2026-09-12T06:07:38Z","builder":"tools/build_cards.py@1.0.0"},"completeness":{"sections":{"classifiers":"filled","whatItIs":"filled","purpose":"filled","distinguishingFeatures":"filled","structure":"filled","agentConduct":"filled","ethics":"filled","owners":"filled","relations":"filled","interaction.identity":"filled","interaction.properties":"not-applicable","interaction.recognition":"filled","interaction.capabilities":"filled","interaction.hazards":"filled","interaction.interfaces":"filled","interaction.context":"filled","sources":"filled"},"notes":{"_gate":"Published through the thing publication gate 1.0 on 2026-10-07T12:16:27+00:00: completeness 1.00; sense: WordNet gloss; 2 live sources; review by codex: pass","interaction.properties":"Plane XCT: no invented physical properties."},"score":1.0}}