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  "release": "0.35",
  "citation": "Taylor, B. P. (2026). Variety. The Necessary Tangle, release 0.35. https://transduction.systems/entries/concept_variety/",
  "licence": "CC BY-SA 4.0 for original atlas text and data; linked works retain their own terms",
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    "description": "The number of distinguishable possibilities in a specified set. Variety depends on which distinctions are available to an observer for a purpose; it is not a synonym for vague complexity.",
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    "canonical_definition": "The number of distinguishable elements or possible states in a specified set, sometimes expressed logarithmically; the distinctions and observer must be stated.",
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    "title": "Variety",
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    "canonical_definition": "The number of distinguishable elements or possible states in a specified set, sometimes expressed logarithmically; the distinctions and observer must be stated.",
    "summary": "Variety counts distinguishable possibilities. A system may have many physical states but little usable variety if the observer cannot distinguish them or the regulator cannot select among effective responses.",
    "why_it_matters": "Variety turns vague talk about complexity into a question about differences that matter for regulation. It also makes the observer visible: what counts as a different state depends on purpose, sensing and classification.",
    "key_distinctions": [
      "physical states vs distinguishable states",
      "nominal options vs usable responses",
      "variety vs diversity as a value",
      "variety vs semantic richness",
      "count vs logarithmic measure"
    ],
    "historical_lineage": [
      "Ashby developed variety as a central cybernetic measure",
      "information theory provided related logarithmic tools",
      "management cybernetics applied attenuation and amplification of variety"
    ],
    "logical_antecedents": [
      "a specified set",
      "criteria of distinction",
      "an observer or measuring apparatus",
      "a purpose or regulatory question"
    ],
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      "law of requisite variety",
      "variety engineering",
      "attenuation and amplification",
      "regulatory capacity analysis"
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    "practice_connections": [
      "state whose distinctions count",
      "separate the variety seen by citizens, frontline workers and management",
      "ask which options can actually change outcomes",
      "do not add reporting variety that no one can absorb"
    ],
    "espoused_lineages": [
      "cybernetics",
      "information theory",
      "management cybernetics"
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      "variety is objective and observer-free",
      "more variety is always better",
      "variety means diversity or complexity in general",
      "every available option is usable"
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      "formal relation to Shannon entropy",
      "later variety engineering methods"
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      "notes": "Public author teaching deck relating organisational capacity, capability, connectedness and variety to operational, environmental and future complexity. Public PDF linked on 2026-09-19; the earlier unpublished access description is superseded.",
      "creators": [
        "Benjamin P Taylor"
      ],
      "doi": "",
      "isbn": "",
      "publisher": "Benjamin P Taylor public work library",
      "licence": "not_publicly_licensed",
      "archived_url": "",
      "content_hash": "",
      "review_status": "public_file_identity_checked",
      "last_checked": "2026-09-19",
      "public_link_status": "public_link"
    },
    {
      "id": "src_scio_cf_resources_2022",
      "title": "SCiO CF Resources v9 draft",
      "source_type": "professional_framework_resource_guide",
      "quality_tier": "C",
      "access": "no_public_link",
      "url": "",
      "date": "2022-09-15",
      "notes": "SCiO internal competency-resource draft; no public link. Public SCiO accreditation pages are linked separately where possible.",
      "creators": [
        "SCiO"
      ],
      "doi": "",
      "isbn": "",
      "publisher": "",
      "licence": "",
      "archived_url": "",
      "content_hash": "",
      "review_status": "pass4_legacy_internal_register_audit",
      "last_checked": "2026-08-14",
      "public_link_status": "no_public_link"
    },
    {
      "id": "src_scio_mosaic_2013",
      "title": "Mosaic transformation in organisations",
      "source_type": "research_article_metadata",
      "quality_tier": "B",
      "access": "public_metadata",
      "url": "https://www.systemspractice.org/resources/mosaic-transformation-organisations",
      "date": "2013-09-01",
      "notes": "SCiO record for Patrick Hoverstadt's article developing Mosaic Transformation from complexity, variety, the VSM and empirical study of organisation-wide change.",
      "creators": [
        "Patrick Hoverstadt"
      ],
      "doi": "",
      "isbn": "",
      "publisher": "Journal of Organisational Transformation & Social Change",
      "licence": "publisher_terms",
      "archived_url": "",
      "content_hash": "",
      "review_status": "checked",
      "last_checked": "2026-08-09",
      "public_link_status": "public_link"
    },
    {
      "id": "src_u31_ashby",
      "title": "Ashby: selection, regulation, and variety: researcher module",
      "source_type": "public_source",
      "quality_tier": "B",
      "access": "public",
      "url": "https://rational-understanding.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/ashby-researcher-module.pdf",
      "date": "2026",
      "notes": "John A Challoner’s version 1 reconstruction, 30 September 2026. General and specialised definitions/propositions are labelled separately; original-author wording is not implied.",
      "creators": [
        "John A Challoner"
      ],
      "doi": "",
      "isbn": "",
      "publisher": "Rational Understanding",
      "licence": "source terms unless otherwise stated",
      "archived_url": "",
      "content_hash": "82f4be02d8ef575245c734d826a9a65993f6eba96d42c4ec67204b6f6931776e",
      "review_status": "source_scoped_research_pass",
      "last_checked": "2026-10-08",
      "public_link_status": "public_link",
      "connection_pass": "update_20261008",
      "source_locator": "Complete PDF, 6 pages; specific claims carry page and proposition references",
      "source_role": "secondary reconstruction",
      "pages_read": 6
    }
  ],
  "evidence_locators": [
    {
      "id": "ev_ashby_variety_definition",
      "source_id": "src_ashby_intro_cybernetics_1956",
      "locator": "chapters 7–8; official archive bibliography entry 56",
      "review_status": "research_pass_needs_editor"
    },
    {
      "id": "ev_shannon_information_theory",
      "source_id": "src_shannon_communication_1948",
      "locator": "Bell System Technical Journal 27, pp. 379-423 and 623-656",
      "review_status": "research_pass_needs_editor"
    },
    {
      "id": "ev_ashby_requisite_variety",
      "source_id": "src_ashby_intro_cybernetics_1956",
      "locator": "chapter 11, especially sections 11/7–11/13",
      "review_status": "research_pass_needs_editor"
    },
    {
      "id": "ev_taylor_vsm_viability",
      "source_id": "src_taylor_vsm_lecture_2025",
      "locator": "sections on viability, adaptation, identity, autonomy, cohesion and transduction",
      "review_status": "research_pass_needs_editor"
    },
    {
      "id": "ev_e31_module_ashby_1",
      "source_id": "src_u31_ashby",
      "locator": "p. 3, DG4 and PG4",
      "review_status": "research_pass_needs_editor"
    },
    {
      "id": "ev_e31_concept_1",
      "source_id": "src_u31_ashby",
      "locator": "pp. 4–5, PS1–PS2",
      "review_status": "research_pass_needs_editor"
    }
  ],
  "reuse_note": "Preserve source attribution, scope, and review status. Source documents and evidence excerpts are excluded."
}