{"schema":"https://ver.cy/schemas/card/1.0.0","id":"vr.tr.similarity-q105227892","code":"thing-q105227892","url":"https://ver.cy/models/thing/q105227892/","name":"similarity","alternateNames":["parallel harmony","phonetic similitude","climatic similarity","similar polygons","imitation","semantic similarity","substantial similarity"],"kind":"thing","status":"published","version":"0.2.0-wave.3","language":"en","classifiers":{"family":"Thing Registry","category":"Cross-cutting context","entryKind":"thing","plane":"XCT","domain":["XCT.QLT"],"industry":[],"navPath":"","tags":[],"facets":{}},"whatItIs":"A relation in which two or more things share properties, structure or appearance to some degree without being identical, studied formally in mathematics as similarity of geometric figures such as similar polygons with equal angles and proportional sides, in linguistics and information science as semantic and phonetic similarity, in music as parallel harmony, in climatology as climatic similarity between regions, in psychology as the basis of categorisation and imitation, and in law and philosophy as analogy; similarity measures underpin search, machine learning and classification.","purpose":"Let an agent explain similarity as a relation across fields, relay formal and computational measures from mathematical and information science sources, describe domain-specific senses, and distinguish similarity from identity, equality, analogy and imitation as an act.","scope":{"in":[],"out":[],"boundaries":[]},"distinguishingFeatures":["Graded relation","Domain-specific measures","Basis of classification","Symmetric in most senses"],"structure":{"bundles":[{"id":"understand","name":"Understand","description":"What similarity is.","layers":[{"id":"definition","name":"Definition","description":"Definition.","findings":[{"id":"definition-finding","name":"Definition","description":"Definition.","questions":[{"text":"What is similarity, and how does it differ from identity, equality, analogy and imitation?","kind":"definition"},{"text":"Is the question about similarity in general or in geometry, language, music, climate, psychology or computing?","kind":"boundary"}]}]},{"id":"senses","name":"Senses","description":"Domain senses.","findings":[{"id":"senses-finding","name":"Senses","description":"Senses.","questions":[{"text":"What are similar polygons, semantic and phonetic similarity, parallel harmony, climatic similarity and imitation?","kind":"definition"},{"text":"Which entry fits the specific sense?","kind":"action"}]}]}]},{"id":"measure","name":"Measure","description":"Measures.","layers":[{"id":"geometry","name":"Geometry","description":"Geometry.","findings":[{"id":"geometry-finding","name":"Geometry","description":"Geometry.","questions":[{"text":"How is geometric similarity defined and tested for triangles and polygons?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which references are standard?","kind":"provenance"}]}]},{"id":"computation","name":"Computation","description":"Computational measures.","findings":[{"id":"computation-finding","name":"Computation","description":"Computation.","questions":[{"text":"How do cosine, Jaccard, edit distance and embedding-based measures quantify similarity?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which sources are cited?","kind":"provenance"}]}]}]},{"id":"apply","name":"Apply","description":"Applications.","layers":[{"id":"search","name":"Search","description":"Search and learning.","findings":[{"id":"search-finding","name":"Search","description":"Search.","questions":[{"text":"How do search engines, recommender systems and machine learning use similarity?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which entry fits nearest neighbour search?","kind":"action"}]}]},{"id":"cognition","name":"Cognition","description":"Cognition.","findings":[{"id":"cognition-finding","name":"Cognition","description":"Cognition.","questions":[{"text":"How does similarity underpin categorisation and learning in psychology, with theories attributed?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which entry fits categorization?","kind":"action"}]}]}]},{"id":"context","name":"Context","description":"Theory and law.","layers":[{"id":"theory","name":"Theory","description":"Philosophy.","findings":[{"id":"theory-finding","name":"Theory","description":"Theory.","questions":[{"text":"What philosophical problems does similarity raise, from Goodman s critique to resemblance nominalism, with positions attributed?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which entry fits resemblance?","kind":"action"}]}]},{"id":"law","name":"Law","description":"Law.","findings":[{"id":"law-finding","name":"Law","description":"Law.","questions":[{"text":"How do trademark and copyright law assess similarity and likelihood of confusion, in general terms?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which entry fits trademark infringement?","kind":"action"}]}]}]}]},"agentConduct":{"may":["Explain similarity in its mathematical, linguistic and other senses, stating which is meant.","Compute similarity measures on data the agent is authorized to process."],"mustNot":["Treat similarity as identity, such as declaring two people the same from a resemblance.","Apply a similarity measure from one domain where it does not fit.","Use face or voice similarity to identify a person without consent or legal basis.","Treat unrelated senses in registry aliases as one concept."],"requiresHuman":["Acting on a similarity match that identifies a person or accuses someone of copying."]},"ethics":{"considerations":["Similarity scores can wrongly match people, with serious results in policing or hiring.","Claims that works are similar can lead to plagiarism accusations that need care."],"affectedParties":["People matched by recognition systems","Authors and creators"]},"owners":{"steward":"Nobody: a concept held in common.","roles":[],"masterSystems":[]},"relations":[{"target":"Q930933","type":"parent","note":"registry parent class"},{"target":"relation","type":"related","note":"in registry terms"},{"target":"similarity measure","type":"related","note":"in computation"},{"target":"identity","type":"related","note":"exact sameness"},{"target":"similarity (geometry)","type":"related","note":"in mathematics"}],"interaction":{"identity":{"applicability":"required","items":["Vercy registry: vr.tr.similarity-q105227892","Wikidata: Q105227892 (https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q105227892)"]},"properties":{"applicability":"not-applicable","items":["common measures: cosine, Jaccard, edit distance list","geometric similarity criteria: AA, SAS, SSS list - for triangles"]},"recognition":{"applicability":"optional","items":["Sharing of properties without identity","Similar polygons, semantic similarity, phonetic similitude, parallel harmony, climatic similarity, imitation","Identity is sameness; equality is exact equivalence; analogy maps relations; imitation is an act","Not a visible object; a relation between things."]},"capabilities":{"applicability":"required","items":["explain the relation","relay measures","describe domain senses","distinguish related concepts"]},"hazards":{"applicability":"required","items":["Confusing similarity with identity or analogy","Misapplying measures across domains","Registry aliases mixing unrelated senses"]},"interfaces":{"applicability":"required","items":["No regulation; standards for similarity metrics in specific fields such as trademark confusion tests"]},"context":{"applicability":"required","items":["Not applicable; a relation.","geometric similarity including similar polygons","semantic and lexical similarity","phonetic similarity","musical similarity such as parallel harmony","climatic and ecological similarity","psychological similarity and imitation","similarity measures in data science"]}},"sources":[{"title":"Wikidata item Q105227892: similarity","url":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q105227892","note":"identity and sense of the item"},{"title":"Wikipedia: Similarity (philosophy)","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Similarity_%28philosophy%29","note":"general description of the item"}],"openQuestions":["Should geometric similarity and semantic similarity be separate primary entries?","How should mathematical and information science sources be linked?","The registry entry has merged aliases from many fields; should they be split off?"],"resources":{"spec":"/models/things/publications/thing-q105227892/spec.json"},"provenance":{"origin":"thing registry research (pass 2)","builtFrom":["models/things/publications/thing-q105227892/spec.json"],"providers":["Claude"],"researchStatus":"unreviewed","generatedAt":"2026-09-13T06:32:40Z","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 2026-10-06T19:51:53+00:00: completeness 1.00; sense: Wikidata description; 2 live sources; review by codex: pass","interaction.properties":"Plane XCT: no invented physical properties."},"score":1.0}}