glossary
core terms used throughout the integrodynamics series
how to use this glossary
terms are grouped into conceptual sections and listed in alphabetical order within each section. this structure is intended to minimise cognitive load and make lookup predictable.
where a term departs from common usage, the definition given here should be taken as authoritative for this work.
foundational concepts
coherence
the joint sustainability of declared rationale, chosen narrative, and observed behaviour under system evolution.
declared rationale
the explicit justification, policy, or objective a system claims to follow when making decisions.
chosen narrative
the explanatory account a system adopts to frame its actions and outcomes, which may diverge from both its declared rationale and its observed behaviour.
observed behaviour
the empirical pattern of outcomes produced by a system, independent of its stated intentions or explanations.
system
any organisation, institution, or decision process that transforms inputs into outcomes according to stated or implicit rules over time.
structural integrity and invariance
integrity
the degree of coherence exhibited by a system; formally treated as a conserved quantity under admissible update rules.
integrity functional
a scalar functional governing system evolution, balancing structural tension against dispersion under admissible stochastic dynamics.
symmetry
a declared constraint or invariance that should hold under admissible transformations of inputs or agents.
symmetry violation
a systematic departure from declared invariance, producing directional rather than random effects.
contradiction and drift
bounded asymmetry
persistent but limited deviation from symmetry that does not immediately imply failure but requires monitoring.
contradiction
a structural condition in which declared rationale and observed behaviour cannot be jointly sustained under any admissible update rule.
drift
gradual, directional divergence between declared rationale and observed behaviour.
quantification of contradiction
the treatment of contradiction as a measurable phenomenon that can accumulate, persist, and be analysed statistically.
entropy, probability, and null structure
entropy (directional)
structured dispersion produced by symmetry violations, distinct from random noise.
fairness
an evidential property of a process, defined by the preservation of declared symmetries under certified randomness.
null model
a formal model representing expected system behaviour under declared constraints and certified randomness.
dynamics, collapse, and diagnostics
collapse
the regime in which observed outcomes become statistically irreconcilable with any null model of benign system behaviour.
field
a representation of system behaviour as a state evolving under the integrity functional.
falsifiability
the property that claims about system integrity, drift, or collapse can be empirically tested and potentially refuted.
irreversibility
a regime in which system behaviour cannot return to coherence without external intervention or structural change.
sentinel framework
an operational diagnostic combining contradiction detection and symmetry testing to monitor coherence under drift.