detail
Enable an agent to identify a detail relative to a specified whole, assess its significance and evidential status, and decide whether to preserve, inspect, elaborate or omit it.
Research draft, second pass
A second pass drafted this model: the structure a model of this thing needs, and what is known about it in the world. The line under this one says how the second half was obtained - researched against sources, or recalled without web access, in which case nothing here was read anywhere and every claim is a lead to verify. Unreviewed either way.
Researched by: Codex
Bundle → Layer → Finding → Questions Filled
5 bundles · 9 layers · 13 findings · 21 questions
Detail and whole Establishes which particular is being singled out and the context that makes it a detail.
Anchoring the particular
Connects a candidate detail to a recoverable whole and location.
Recoverable detail anchor
Record the whole and enough locating information to distinguish the intended particular from nearby alternatives.
- What exactly is this a detail of, and where can it be recovered within that whole? definition
- What distinguishes this particular from adjacent or similar details? boundary
Kind of particular
Separates constituent parts from features, circumstances and particulars of an account.
Detail role and sense
Record whether the term identifies something in the subject, something in its representation, or a relationship between them.
- Is the detail a constituent part, an attribute, a circumstance or an item in a description? definition
- Does this use concern a particular detail, descriptive granularity, or a different sense of the word? boundary
Granularity and discrimination Records the conditions under which a detail can be separated from its surroundings.
Recognition conditions
Identifies the resolution and access needed to recognise the particular.
Discrimination threshold
Record what must be visible, available or explicitly stated for this detail to be distinguished.
- At what spatial, temporal, semantic or descriptive granularity can this detail first be distinguished? measurement
- What observation conditions or contextual information are required to recognise it? measurement
Changes of scale
Tracks the same particular across coarser and finer accounts.
Detail survival across scale
Record whether changing scale retains the particular, merges it with others or removes it from view.
- Which coarser description contains or aggregates this detail, and which finer particulars elaborate it? boundary
- What distinction would be lost if the representation were made less detailed? action
Significance and selection Assesses why a detail deserves attention or inclusion for a particular purpose.
Task-relative consequence
Connects the particular to the interpretation or decision it may affect.
Consequence of changing a detail
Record the expected effect of altering or removing the particular, distinguishing tested consequences from conjecture.
- For which named task could this detail change recognition, interpretation or action? definition
- What comparison or omission test would show whether it makes a consequential difference? measurement
Inclusion and omission
Supports deliberate choices about retaining, emphasising or dropping particulars.
Justified detail selection
Record why a detail is included or omitted and what misunderstanding that treatment could produce.
- Should this detail be retained, emphasised, deferred or omitted for the intended audience and task? action
- Would omitting or emphasising it distort the whole, and what supports that assessment? boundary
Evidence and representation Separates particulars supported by evidence from those introduced through inference or elaboration.
Support for specificity
Traces support at the level of the individual particular.
Detail-level evidence
Record the evidence for the exact particular claimed, including whether its precision exceeds what the evidence supports.
- Which observation, passage or inference supports this exact detail? provenance
- Does the detail assert a precision or specificity that its supporting evidence cannot establish? boundary
Detail transformations
Tracks particulars through transcription, summarisation, translation, editing or imaginative elaboration.
Retained and introduced particulars
Record which details a transformation preserves, changes, removes or introduces and whether additions are presented as factual.
- Which details were added, altered or lost between the source and this representation? provenance
- Which changes require correction, qualification or an explicit indication of invention? 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 detail 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 detail 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 detail 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 detail 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 detail this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Classifiers Filled
- Family
- Thing Registry
- Category
- Cross-cutting context
- Entry kind
- thing
- Plane
- XCT
- Domain
- XCT.REL
- Other names and narrower kinds
- greeble
What it is Filled
A detail is an individual feature, constituent part, or particular item of information considered in relation to a larger whole, often at a finer level of description.
In scope
- The whole or context relative to which something counts as a detail
- The particular feature, part or information item being singled out
- Granularity, visibility and inclusion at different levels of description
- A detail's relevance to a task, interpretation or decision
- The distinction between observed, reported, inferred and invented detail
Out of scope
- Complete models of the object, event or work containing the detail
- General theories of physical composition and part-whole relations
- Specifications and requirements governing an entire system
- Attention and perception as cognitive processes
- Detail meaning a personnel assignment or assigned group
Why it exists Filled
Enable an agent to identify a detail relative to a specified whole, assess its significance and evidential status, and decide whether to preserve, inspect, elaborate or omit it.
Distinguishing features Filled
- A candidate detail must have an identifiable containing whole or descriptive context; being small by itself is insufficient.
- A detail may be a property, circumstance or informational particular without being a detachable component.
- Calling something a detail does not establish that it is unimportant; its significance must be tested against a task.
- A particular detail can be pointed to or stated, whereas 'level of detail' describes the granularity of a representation.
- Adding particulars increases elaboration but does not establish that those particulars accurately describe the subject.
What robots and AI may and may not do Filled
Must not
- Invent details to fill gaps and present them as fact.
- Take a detail out of context so that it changes the meaning of the whole.
- Reveal personal details about a person beyond what the task needs.
- Drop safety-relevant details when summarising instructions.
Only with a human decision
- Publishing details about an identifiable person.
May
- Extract, summarise and cite details from a source, keeping their link to the whole.
- Ask for missing details before acting on an instruction that depends on them.
Moral aspects Filled
- Small details can identify people or change outcomes, so they deserve care.
- Selective details can mislead as surely as false ones.
Who is affected
- People described
- Readers relying on the summary
Owners Filled
Steward
Nobody owns the concept; the author of a source answers for its details.
Links to other meta-models Filled
parent
- Q1207505 - registry parent class
What else AI and robots need to interact with it Filled
Identity and identifiers required Filled
- Vercy registry: vr.tr.detail
- Wikidata: Q1201081 (https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1201081)
Direct properties not applicable Not applicable
- Referent whole: Identified object, event, work, account or other contextual whole
- Detail role: Part; feature; circumstance; informational particular; unresolved
- Contextual locator: Position, time interval, passage, region or other traceable location within the whole
- Recognition threshold: Minimum discriminating resolution or granularity, with domain-specific units and conditions
- Task significance: Decisive; supporting; incidental; distracting; unknown, relative to a named task
- Evidence status: Observed; source-reported; inferred; deliberately invented; disputed; unknown
- Representation treatment: Explicit; aggregated; omitted; obscured; unresolved
Plane XCT: no invented physical properties.
Recognition not applicable Not applicable
Not applicable
A detail is a relational concept with no universal visual appearance that distinguishes it from other features.
Capabilities and actions required Filled
- Locate and isolate a particular while retaining its connection to the whole.
- Expand a description to expose finer particulars.
- Compare versions to detect altered, added or missing details.
- Trace a stated detail to its observation, source or inference.
- Assess whether omitting a detail changes a specified interpretation or decision.
- Preserve consequential details when summarising or changing scale.
Hazards and failure modes required Filled
- Overlooking a significant detail can lead to an incorrect assessment or missed defect.
- Giving an incidental detail excessive weight can distort conclusions about the whole.
- Preserving sensitive details without appropriate controls can expose private information.
Standards and interfaces not applicable Not applicable
Not applicable
No standard, law or official classification applies to a detail independently of its subject and use.
Context of use required Filled
- A detail is encountered when inspecting an object, document, event or account more closely than casual observation allows.
- Details support comparison, interpretation and verification when a small feature matters to understanding the larger whole.
Sources Filled
- Wikidata item Q1201081: detail - identity and sense of the item
Open questions
- Does vr.tr.detail intend a contextual particular, descriptive granularity, a specialised sense, or several senses, given the missing registry definition?
- Which reference traditions distinguish detail as a part of a subject from detail as information in a representation, and where do their definitions conflict?
- Should level of detail belong to this entry or to a neighbouring model linked to individual particulars?
- Which domains provide defensible measures of detail granularity, and where must assessment remain qualitative?
- How should the identity of a detail be maintained when different observers or representations divide the same whole differently?
Machine files
Provenance
thing registry research (pass 2) · unreviewed
Built from: models/things/publications/thing-q1201081/spec.json