{
  "schema_version": "1.0",
  "canonical_url": "https://transduction.systems/entries/concept_explicit_semantics/",
  "release": "0.35",
  "citation": "Taylor, B. P. (2026). Explicit semantics. The Necessary Tangle, release 0.35. https://transduction.systems/entries/concept_explicit_semantics/",
  "licence": "CC BY-SA 4.0 for original atlas text and data; linked works retain their own terms",
  "entry": {
    "id": "concept_explicit_semantics",
    "label": "Explicit semantics",
    "entity_type": "concept",
    "description": "The practice of making the meaning of data types, relations, direction, evidence status and scope machine-readable and inspectable rather than leaving interpretation to labels, layout or convention alone.",
    "aliases": [
      "semantic explicitness"
    ],
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    "status": "accepted",
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      "systems",
      "practice",
      "human_lineage",
      "release_0_12"
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    "espoused_labels": [],
    "observed_clusters": [],
    "canonical_definition": "The practice of making the meaning of data types, relations, direction, evidence status and scope machine-readable and inspectable rather than leaving interpretation to labels, layout or convention alone.",
    "valid_from": "",
    "valid_to": "",
    "external_ids": "{}",
    "geographies": [],
    "licence": "",
    "review_status": "curator_checked_public_sources",
    "reviewed_by": "Benjamin P Taylor",
    "reviewed_at": "2026-08-10",
    "x": 0.2,
    "y": 0.13,
    "canonical_id": "concept_explicit_semantics",
    "public_visibility": "public",
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    "public_stub_text": "",
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  },
  "profile": {
    "node_id": "concept_explicit_semantics",
    "title": "Explicit semantics",
    "profile_status": "curator_checked_public_sources",
    "canonical_definition": "The practice of making the meaning of data types, relations, direction, evidence status and scope machine-readable and inspectable rather than leaving interpretation to labels, layout or convention alone.",
    "summary": "Explicit semantics makes the commitments of a graph inspectable: what kinds of entities exist, what a relation means, whether it is directed, what supports it, how certain it is and where it applies.",
    "why_it_matters": "A visually attractive line can create a false genealogy if its meaning is left implicit. The atlas already has typed relations; this release documents the semantic contract and makes it part of validation rather than a private implementation detail.",
    "key_distinctions": [
      "semantic type vs visual style",
      "relation meaning vs spatial proximity",
      "evidence source vs discovery source",
      "canonical identity vs label",
      "graph semantics vs algorithmic neighbourhood"
    ],
    "historical_lineage": [
      "semantic networks",
      "RDF and knowledge graphs",
      "typed graph data",
      "systems bodies of knowledge"
    ],
    "logical_antecedents": [
      "distinction",
      "identity",
      "relation",
      "scope",
      "provenance"
    ],
    "dependent_subsequents": [
      "machine-readable graph",
      "validation rules",
      "inspectable evidence lines"
    ],
    "practice_connections": [
      "data modelling",
      "knowledge graph design",
      "editorial review",
      "AI retrieval and constrained inference"
    ],
    "espoused_lineages": [],
    "observed_clusters": [],
    "common_misreadings": [
      "an ontology is neutral",
      "RDF automatically makes claims true",
      "a graph layout is the semantics"
    ],
    "open_checks": [
      "publish JSON Schema or SHACL-compatible constraints",
      "test semantic export and round-trip",
      "compare with Nodica and other graph tools"
    ],
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      "src_nodica_repo_2026",
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    "last_researched": "2026-08-10",
    "review_status": "curator_checked_public_sources",
    "reviewed_by": "Benjamin P Taylor",
    "reviewed_at": "2026-08-10",
    "editorial_note": "Developed from cited public sources. The entry remains open to correction, rival accounts and stronger evidence."
  },
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}