{ "vercy": "1.0-draft", "publication": { "status": "research-draft", "adjudicationStatus": "unreviewed", "publishableCanonical": false, "generatedAt": "2026-09-12T06:20:56Z", "providers": [ "Claude" ], "breadth": "written by Claude from model knowledge without web access - no source was read, every claim is a lead to verify", "pass": 2, "wave": 2, "engine": "claude", "enrichment": { "pass": 3, "engine": "claude", "producedAt": "2026-10-06T00:10:00Z", "ingestedAt": "2026-10-05T20:54:25+00:00", "fields": [ "agent_conduct", "ethics", "owners" ] } }, "metaModel": { "id": "THING-Q3253731", "registryId": "vr.tr.degrees-of-freedom", "name": "degrees of freedom", "version": "0.2.0-wave.2", "entryKind": "thing", "family": "Thing Registry", "domain": [ "XCT.QTY" ], "status": "research-draft" }, "canonicalUrl": "https://ver.cy/models/thing/q3253731/", "model": { "registry_id": "vr.tr.degrees-of-freedom", "name": "degrees of freedom", "purpose": "Let an agent explain degrees of freedom across mechanics, statistics, physics and chemistry, support counting and calculating them, describe their role in tests, mechanisms and models, and support learning.", "definition": "The number of independent parameters that define the state or configuration of a system, in mechanics the number of independent movements a body or mechanism can make, such as six for a free rigid body, in statistics the number of values free to vary in a calculation, which governs the distributions used in tests, and in physics and chemistry the number of independent variables in phase rules and the modes of molecules; degrees of freedom are fundamental to modelling, robotics, statistics and thermodynamics.", "what_it_is_for": "Independent parameters of a system.", "affordances": [ "explain across fields", "support counting", "describe roles in tests and mechanisms", "support learning" ], "distinguishing_features": [ "Independence", "Reduced by constraints", "Field-specific meanings", "Governs distributions and motion" ], "appearance": "Not physical; a count.", "visual_identification": [ "Number of independent parameters", "Mechanical, statistical, thermodynamic, molecular", "Dimensions of a space are related but not identical; constraints reduce degrees of freedom" ], "physical_properties": [], "families_and_kinds": [ "degrees of freedom of rigid bodies and mechanisms", "degrees of freedom in statistics", "thermodynamic degrees of freedom and the phase rule", "molecular degrees of freedom", "degrees of freedom in robotics and control" ], "related_models": [ { "relation": "is a kind of", "target": "number of entities", "why": "category" }, { "relation": "is related to", "target": "robotics", "why": "joints and degrees of freedom of robots" }, { "relation": "is related to", "target": "damping ratio", "why": "parameters of dynamic systems" }, { "relation": "is related to", "target": "relative species abundance", "why": "statistical analysis of ecological data" } ], "identifiers": [], "standards_and_regulation": [ "Statistical reporting conventions", "Mechanism and robotics terminology", "No regulation of the concept" ], "failure_modes_and_hazards": [ "Miscounting degrees of freedom in tests", "Conflating senses across fields", "Ignoring constraints" ], "in_scope": [], "out_of_scope": [], "characteristics": [], "agent_conduct": { "may": [ "Explain degrees of freedom in mechanics, statistics, physics and chemistry with correct definitions.", "Compute degrees of freedom for a model or test and show the working." ], "must_not": [ "Report statistical results with wrong degrees of freedom that make findings look stronger.", "Confuse the mechanical and statistical senses in technical work.", "Certify a robot's or mechanism's range of movement as safe without proper analysis." ], "requires_human": [ "Accepting statistical conclusions used in medicine, policy or law." ] }, "ethics": { "considerations": [ "Statistical errors can mislead decisions about treatments and policies.", "Robots with more degrees of freedom have larger, harder-to-predict hazard zones around people." ], "affected_parties": [ "Readers of research", "People working near robots" ] }, "owners": { "steward": "Nobody: a concept held in common.", "master_systems": [] } }, "sources": [ { "id": "wikidata", "title": "Wikidata item Q3253731: degrees of freedom", "url": "https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q3253731", "url_status": "live", "what_it_supports": "identity and sense of the item", "checked_by": "wikidata-api" }, { "id": "wikipedia-en", "title": "Wikipedia: Degrees of freedom (statistics)", "url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Degrees_of_freedom_%28statistics%29", "url_status": "live", "what_it_supports": "general description of the item", "checked_by": "wikidata-api sitelink" } ], "structure": { "bundles": [ { "id": "understand", "name": "Understand", "description": "What degrees of freedom are.", "rationale": "Concepts.", "layers": [ { "id": "concept", "name": "Concept", 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"text": "How do degrees of freedom appear in the phase rule, equipartition and molecular motion?", "kind": "provenance" }, { "text": "Which entry fits the phase rule?", "kind": "action" } ] } ] }, { "id": "models", "name": "Models", "description": "Modelling.", "findings": [ { "id": "models-finding", "name": "Models", "description": "Models.", "questions": [ { "text": "How do degrees of freedom shape model complexity and overfitting?", "kind": "provenance" }, { "text": "Which findings are contested?", "kind": "boundary" } ] } ] } ] }, { "id": "learn", "name": "Learn", "description": "History and teaching.", "rationale": "Education.", "layers": [ { "id": "history", "name": "History", "description": "History.", "findings": [ { "id": "history-finding", "name": "History", "description": "History.", "questions": [ { "text": "How did the concept develop in mechanics and statistics?", "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 degrees of freedom be taught across disciplines?", "kind": "action" }, { "text": "Which misconceptions arise?", "kind": "provenance" } ] } ] } ] } ] }, "openQuestions": [ "Should statistical degrees of freedom be a separate entry?", "How should textbooks be linked?", "How should robotics resources be linked?" ], "statistics": { "bundles": 4, "layers": 8, "findings": 8, "questions": 16 } }