{"schema":"https://ver.cy/schemas/card/1.0.0","id":"vr.tr.aphorism","code":"thing-q165740","url":"https://ver.cy/models/thing/q165740/","name":"aphorism","alternateNames":["Shogi aphorism","Augustine's laws"],"kind":"thing","status":"published","version":"0.2.0-wave.4","language":"en","classifiers":{"family":"Thing Registry","category":"Cross-cutting context","entryKind":"thing","plane":"XCT","domain":["XCT.QLT"],"industry":[],"navPath":"","tags":[],"facets":{}},"whatItIs":"A concise, memorable statement expressing a general truth, principle or observation, often attributed to a named author, as in the aphorisms of Hippocrates, which gave the form its name, and later writers such as La Rochefoucauld, Lichtenberg and Nietzsche; registry aliases name shogi aphorisms, traditional sayings about strategy in Japanese chess, and Augustine s laws, humorous observations about defence procurement and management published by Norman Augustine in 1984, which are collections and appear as specific instances. Aphorisms overlap with maxims, proverbs and epigrams, and famous ones are frequently misattributed, so sources should be checked.","purpose":"Let an agent explain aphorisms, relay history, form and famous authors from literary sources, describe the named collections and flag instance aliases, check attributions, and distinguish aphorisms from proverbs, maxims, epigrams, adages and quotations.","scope":{"in":[],"out":[],"boundaries":[]},"distinguishingFeatures":["Brevity","Often authored","General insight","Frequently misattributed"],"structure":{"bundles":[{"id":"understand","name":"Understand","description":"What an aphorism is.","layers":[{"id":"definition","name":"Definition","description":"Definition.","findings":[{"id":"definition-finding","name":"Definition","description":"Definition.","questions":[{"text":"What is an aphorism, and how does it differ from proverbs, maxims, epigrams, adages and quotations?","kind":"definition"},{"text":"Is the question about who said a specific aphorism, which needs source checking?","kind":"boundary"}]}]},{"id":"collections","name":"Collections","description":"Named collections.","findings":[{"id":"collections-finding","name":"Collections","description":"Collections.","questions":[{"text":"What are shogi aphorisms and Augustine s laws?","kind":"definition"},{"text":"Which entry fits the specific collection?","kind":"action"}]}]}]},{"id":"history","name":"History","description":"History.","layers":[{"id":"hippocrates","name":"Hippocrates","description":"Medical aphorisms.","findings":[{"id":"hippocrates-finding","name":"Hippocrates","description":"Hippocrates.","questions":[{"text":"How did the Hippocratic Aphorisms give the genre its name?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which references are standard?","kind":"provenance"}]}]},{"id":"moralists","name":"Moralists","description":"French moralists and later writers.","findings":[{"id":"moralists-finding","name":"Moralists","description":"Moralists.","questions":[{"text":"How did La Rochefoucauld, Lichtenberg and Nietzsche use aphorisms?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which sources are cited?","kind":"provenance"}]}]}]},{"id":"forms","name":"Forms","description":"Forms.","layers":[{"id":"laws","name":"Humorous laws","description":"Humorous laws.","findings":[{"id":"laws-finding","name":"Humorous laws","description":"Humorous laws.","questions":[{"text":"How do eponymous laws such as Augustine s laws work as aphorisms?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which entry fits Murphy s law?","kind":"action"}]}]},{"id":"games","name":"Games","description":"Game sayings.","findings":[{"id":"games-finding","name":"Games","description":"Games.","questions":[{"text":"How are strategy sayings used in shogi and go teaching?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which entry fits go proverb?","kind":"action"}]}]}]},{"id":"context","name":"Context","description":"Attribution.","layers":[{"id":"misattribution","name":"Misattribution","description":"Misattribution.","findings":[{"id":"misattribution-finding","name":"Misattribution","description":"Misattribution.","questions":[{"text":"Why are aphorisms often misattributed, and how can they be verified?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Is the information accurate?","kind":"boundary"}]}]},{"id":"style","name":"Style","description":"Aphoristic style.","findings":[{"id":"style-finding","name":"Style","description":"Style.","questions":[{"text":"What do literary scholars say about the aphoristic style, with views attributed?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Is the presentation neutral and attributed?","kind":"boundary"}]}]}]}]},"agentConduct":{"may":["Quote aphorisms with their attributed author and source where known.","Note when an attribution is doubtful or the saying is anonymous.","Explain the meaning and history of an aphorism."],"mustNot":["Attribute a saying to a famous person without evidence.","Invent aphorisms and present them as historical quotations.","Use an aphorism to give false authority to a harmful claim.","Reproduce long copyrighted collections without permission."],"requiresHuman":["Publishing a disputed attribution in a widely read work."]},"ethics":{"considerations":["Misattributed quotations spread easily and distort what people actually said.","Short sayings can lend authority to prejudice or bad advice."],"affectedParties":["Authors and their reputations","Readers","Students"]},"owners":{"steward":"Nobody owns the form; authors or their estates may hold rights in particular collections.","roles":[],"masterSystems":[]},"relations":[{"target":"Q12773435","type":"parent","note":"registry parent class"},{"target":"saying","type":"related","note":"related"},{"target":"maxim","type":"related"},{"target":"proverb","type":"related"},{"target":"epigram","type":"related"}],"interaction":{"identity":{"applicability":"required","items":["Vercy registry: vr.tr.aphorism","Wikidata: Q165740 (https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q165740)"]},"properties":{"applicability":"not-applicable","items":["Hippocrates Aphorisms: about 400 BC note - attributed","La Rochefoucauld Maximes: 1665 year","Augustine s Laws: 1984 year - Norman Augustine"]},"recognition":{"applicability":"optional","items":["Concise statement of a general truth","Shogi aphorism, Augustine s laws","Proverbs are anonymous folk sayings; maxims are rules of conduct; epigrams are witty; adages are long-established; quotations are any cited words","Not a physical object; short sentences in books, speeches and collections."]},"capabilities":{"applicability":"required","items":["explain form and history","relay famous authors","describe named collections","check attributions"]},"hazards":{"applicability":"required","items":["Misattributed quotations","Treating collections as kinds","Oversimplifying context"]},"interfaces":{"applicability":"required","items":["Not applicable"]},"context":{"applicability":"required","items":["Expressing insight briefly.","medical aphorisms","philosophical aphorisms","humorous laws and adages","game strategy sayings"]}},"sources":[{"title":"Wikidata item Q165740: aphorism","url":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q165740","note":"identity and sense of the item"},{"title":"Wikipedia: Aphorism","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aphorism","note":"general description of the item"}],"openQuestions":["The registry aliases shogi aphorism and Augustine s laws should be moved to collection entries","Should humorous laws such as Murphy s law be linked?","How should quotation verification sources be linked?"],"resources":{"spec":"/models/things/publications/thing-q165740/spec.json"},"provenance":{"origin":"thing registry research (pass 2)","builtFrom":["models/things/publications/thing-q165740/spec.json"],"providers":["Claude"],"researchStatus":"unreviewed","generatedAt":"2026-09-14T01:27:58Z","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 2026-10-06T19:51:54+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}}