Glossary
Key Terms
Definitions of core concepts in Distinction Theory and Active Finite Distinction Systems.
Distinction
The primitive operation by which 'this' is separated from 'not-this.' The minimal entry point into finite boundary maintenance.
Boundary
The separation produced by a distinction. In FDS, a boundary may be physical, operational, memory-level, API-level, or task-level.
Finite Capacity
The limited representational or computational resources available to a finite system, formally defined as C_S = log|M| where M is the internal memory.
Capacity Deficit
The gap between task-relevant rate-distortion demand and available capacity: Δ_ε(τ) = R_min(τ)(ε) - C_S.
Active Finite Distinction System (FDS)
A finite-capacity system that maintains a boundary through state-dependent updates under resource constraints. Formally an 11-tuple S = (X,E,B,M,Y,A,U,π,ℓ,Φ,𝒫,τ).
Active Boundary
A boundary whose maintenance depends on nontrivial updates relevant to future boundary-maintenance loss.
Passive Mapper
A system evaluated as an input-output mapping without durable self-update, causal action, or maintenance loop.
Active Pruning
Selective removal, compression, or reorganization of internal structure to reduce maintenance load while preserving function.
Externalization
Relocation of representational, energetic, or control load outside the internal memory budget while retaining access through the system boundary.
Causal Loop Closure
Measurable influence of actions or update decisions on future boundary-relevant states.
Strong FDS-Agent
An artificial system satisfying active boundary, durable update, causal loop, capacity-deficit management, and resource-governed persistence criteria.
Invariant-Supported Persistence
Persistence of identity through a quotient or invariant feature stable under admissible perturbations.
Pruning
A response to persistent capacity deficit involving selective removal of internal structure.
Collapse
A response to persistent capacity deficit in which the system's boundary-maintaining organization is lost.
Distinction Theory (DT)
The broad research programme and claim-space archive covering the full scope of finite distinction systems.
Active Finite Distinction Systems (FDS)
The formal finite-system architecture extracted from the broader DT programme.
Landauer Bridge
The physical bridge claim connecting logically irreversible updates to thermodynamic cost under Landauer's principle.
Boundary-Maintenance Loss
A loss function ℓ that quantifies how well the system maintains its boundary, used to drive update decisions and evaluate pruning or collapse.
Irreversible Update
An update to internal state that cannot be inverted without incurring additional cost, formally linked to logical erasure and thermodynamic dissipation.
Physical Bridge
A claim that connects the formal FDS framework to specific physical assumptions, requiring experimental or empirical validation.
High-Risk Claim
A speculative bridge claim explicitly quarantined from the formal core. Its failure does not propagate upstream to core definitions.