example
Enable an agent to recognise an information item as an example of a specified class, assess its typicality and suitability, and use it within justified limits.
Bundle → Layer → Finding → Questions Filled
6 bundles · 11 layers · 15 findings · 25 questions
Exemplification target Establishes what the information item is an example of and at what level.
Class reference
Identifies the intended class and the interpretation in use.
Recoverable target class
Record the class or group being exemplified and whether it is stated or inferred from context.
- Which class or group is this item presented as typical of? definition
- Which contextual cues establish the target when it is not explicitly named? provenance
Membership fit
Connects the particular item to the target class.
Membership-bearing details
Identify the details supporting class membership and distinguish the information item from anything it describes.
- Which details establish membership in the target class? definition
- Does the information item itself belong to the class, or does it describe a member of that class? boundary
Typicality and variation Examines why the item counts as typical and which differences it leaves unrepresented.
Typicality warrant
Makes the criterion and support for typicality explicit.
Supported typicality
Record what typical means in this context and the evidence or convention supporting that assessment.
- Does typical mean frequently occurring, close to a stated prototype, conventionally representative or something else here? definition
- What observations or named conventions support calling this item typical? provenance
Represented variation
Identifies typical features alongside unusual or narrowly local details.
Typicality limits
Specify the dimensions on which the item is representative and the class variation it does not show.
- Which features are typical, and which are incidental or exceptional? boundary
- What additional example would reveal an important variation this item omits? action
Selection and origin Explains how the example came to be chosen or constructed.
Item origin
Distinguishes records of actual occurrences from invented or adapted information.
Origin and authenticity
Record whether the example was observed, constructed or adapted and what supports that account.
- Was this item recorded from an actual occurrence, constructed for illustration or adapted from another item? provenance
- What source or construction account allows its origin to be checked? provenance
Selection rationale
Records why this particular item was preferred.
Selection tradeoffs
Identify the intended benefit of selection and any resulting distortion of the class.
- Why was this item selected as an example rather than another member of the class? provenance
- Did selection for simplicity, familiarity or vividness exclude features needed for typical representation? boundary
Presentation and fidelity Connects the displayed example to the features it is meant to reveal.
Feature visibility
Checks whether a reader can locate the details that perform the exemplification.
Visible exemplifying features
Associate relevant class features with specific passages, values or other visible elements of the item.
- Where can the audience inspect each feature that makes this item an example? definition
- What annotation would distinguish exemplifying features from incidental details? action
Adaptation fidelity
Assesses whether simplification or transformation preserves the example's role.
Preserved exemplification
Track changes to the presented item and assess their effect on membership and typicality.
- What has been omitted, substituted, simplified or added to the original item? provenance
- Would any change remove a class-defining feature or make the item atypical? boundary
Use and inference Assesses what the example helps an audience do and what conclusions its use supports.
Illustrative suitability
Relates the example to a specific audience and recognition or explanation task.
Audience and task fit
Record the intended use, required background knowledge and likely misunderstandings.
- What should the audience be able to recognise or understand after inspecting this example? action
- What background knowledge is needed to recognise its relevant features correctly? boundary
Generalisation limits
Separates what the item illustrates from broader claims requiring further support.
Bounded inference
Specify conclusions warranted by the example and identify where additional evidence is required.
- Which conclusions concern only this item, and which extend to the represented class? boundary
- What further evidence is needed before using this example to support a claim about prevalence or all class members? action
Evidence and external alignment What the world already says about this thing, gathered so the model can be checked against it.
Reported evidence
Findings from the breadth pass, kept separate from the structural claims.
Check these first
Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.
- Which of these check these first hold for the sense of example this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Kinds and varieties
Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.
- Which of these kinds and varieties hold for the sense of example this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Real-world use
Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.
- Which of these real-world use hold for the sense of example this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Failure modes and hazards
Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.
- Which of these failure modes and hazards hold for the sense of example this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Neighbouring kinds and how to tell them apart
Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.
- Which of these neighbouring kinds and how to tell them apart hold for the sense of example this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Classifiers Filled
- Family
- Thing Registry
- Category
- Information and virtual systems
- Entry kind
- noun.cognition
- Plane
- INF
- Domain
- INF.KNW
- Facets: substance
- information
- Facets: origin
- conceptual
- Facets: agency
- inert
- Facets: mobility
- not-applicable
- Facets: scale
- not-applicable
- Facets: affordances
- readable
- Other names and narrower kinds
- illustration, instance, representative, apology, excuse, exception, precedent, case in point, quintessence, sample, coupon, cross section
What it is Filled
An example is an item of information presented as an instance of a class or group to illustrate its characteristic features.
In scope
- The information item and the class or group it exemplifies
- Features that establish membership and typicality
- Selection context and intended audience
- Authentic or constructed status and relevant alterations
- Suitability for illustration, comparison and reuse
Out of scope
- The complete definition and organisation of the represented class
- The physical object or event described by the information item
- Sampling procedures and population estimates
- Proofs and general claims that examples may help explain
- Complete lessons, arguments or datasets containing examples
Why it exists Filled
Enable an agent to recognise an information item as an example of a specified class, assess its typicality and suitability, and use it within justified limits.
Distinguishing features Filled
- An example presents a particular information item as typical of a named or recoverable class; a definition states what the class means.
- An item must exhibit relevant class features to qualify under this registry definition; merely mentioning the class is insufficient.
- Membership alone does not establish typicality: an exceptional member requires qualification before it can serve as a typical example.
- A counterexample challenges a claim, whereas this entry concerns typical representation; one item can occupy both roles only with separately stated targets.
- An analogy may resemble a class without belonging to it; an example requires a justified membership relationship at the level being exemplified.
What robots and AI may and may not do Filled
Must not
- Present an invented example as a real case.
- Use real people's private data as examples without consent.
- Choose examples that reinforce stereotypes about groups.
- Generalise from one example as if it proved a rule.
Only with a human decision
- Publishing a real case about identifiable people as an example.
May
- Give examples to illustrate concepts and say they are examples.
- Mark invented examples clearly as invented.
Moral aspects Filled
- Examples shape how people understand groups and ideas; biased ones spread prejudice.
Who is affected
- People used as examples
- Learners
Owners Filled
Steward
Nobody owns the concept; the author answers for each example used.
Links to other meta-models Filled
parent
- oewn-05824413-n - registry parent class
What else AI and robots need to interact with it Filled
Identity and identifiers required Filled
- Vercy registry: vr.tr.example
- Open English WordNet: oewn-05828980-n
Direct properties not applicable Not applicable
- Exemplified class: Reference to the class or group, including its applicable interpretation
- Exemplifying features: Connections between item details and relevant class features
- Membership assessment: Supported | disputed | unresolved | excluded
- Typicality assessment: Supported | qualified | disputed | unassessed
- Typicality basis: Observed prevalence | similarity to a stated prototype | named convention | other explicit criterion | unspecified
- Origin mode: Recorded occurrence | adapted occurrence | constructed item | mixed | unknown
- Presentation transformations: Links to omissions, substitutions, simplifications or annotations
- Use suitability: Suitable | suitable with qualifications | unsuitable | unassessed, for a specified use and audience
Plane INF: no invented physical properties.
Recognition not applicable Not applicable
Not applicable
Being an example is an informational role established by context rather than by distinctive perceptible features.
Capabilities and actions required Filled
- Identify the class and features that an item exemplifies.
- Assess membership and typicality separately.
- Select examples that make relevant class features visible.
- Annotate incidental details and limits on generalisation.
- Adapt an example while checking whether its exemplifying features survive.
- Replace or qualify an example when its class interpretation or intended use changes.
Hazards and failure modes required Filled
- An unrepresentative example can lead people or agents to generalize beyond the available evidence.
- An incorrect example can teach a false rule or reinforce a mistaken classification.
- An example containing sensitive information can expose personal or confidential details.
Standards and interfaces not applicable Not applicable
Not applicable
No specific standard, law or official classification applies to an example solely by virtue of its illustrative role.
Context of use required Filled
- An example is used in teaching, documentation and explanation to connect a general category with a particular instance.
- Examples support comparison and reasoning when their relevant features and limits are made explicit.
Sources Filled
- Open English WordNet 2024, synset oewn-05828980-n - sense and gloss of the concept
- Wiktionary: example - word senses and usage
Open questions
- Does the registry intend typicality to require prevalence, similarity to a prototype, conventional representativeness or a context-dependent combination?
- Does this entry include atypical illustrative instances, or does its definition deliberately exclude them?
- How should the catalogue represent an information item that exemplifies a class indirectly by describing a physical member?
- When does adaptation create a distinct example rather than a new presentation of the same example?
- Which existing Vercy models own neighbouring roles such as counterexample, analogy, specimen and evidence?
Machine files
Provenance
thing registry research (pass 2) · unreviewed
Built from: models/things/publications/thing-example/spec.json