Public Vocabulary¶

Canonical public glossary for the Portable Observatory.

Status: partial — docs/demo pack; not a code rename of sealed contracts. Verified against: docs ontology at 5ce15c13; sealed channels base 6e69d792.

Core rules

Display is not probe.
Outcome-plane semantics outrank RGB presentation.
Deeper effort is more attempt, not automatically more truth.
Public words stand alone first; internal names appear only when technically useful.

Term cards¶

Transport Lens¶


Public definition	The interactive way of looking at how the engine carries rays through the authored scene and field policy.
Internal equivalent	`GrinFilmCamera` curved / film transport path (live or snapshot)—not a physical camera body
Measures or displays	Drives transport samples that instruments and display paths consume
Claim boundary	Not a physical spacetime lens, GR light deflection, or laboratory optic unless a named model is evidenced
Confused with	Free-roam locomotion camera · Observatory panel chrome · “truth camera” · OI fixtures
Example UI	Film LIVE / SNAPSHOT inset labeled as the Transport Lens path
Example sentence	“Enable the Transport Lens before reading the Observation Plate.”

Vs free-roam camera: locomotion (walk/fly) moves the observer pose; the Transport Lens is the instrument path that samples transport from that pose. Moving the player without enabling the lens is not an observation.

Observation Plate¶


Public definition	The rectangular image surface that presents mapped observation channels or host display shading for one live or frozen frame.
Internal equivalent	FilmView / film buffer / plate region (e.g. host 320×180 over 80×45 or 160×90 samples)
Measures or displays	Displays a mapping; does not by itself seal scientific classes
Claim boundary	Pixels are presentation unless a caption names a sealed channel and Complete snapshot
Confused with	World viewport · outcome plane (data) · OI evidence PNG doctrine
Example UI	The film TextureRect / plate widget in the HUD
Example sentence	“Watch the Observation Plate—not the big 3D viewport—when field strength changes.”

Vs viewport: the viewport is the 3D world view; the plate is the instrument face.

Display Mode¶


Public definition	A presentation recipe that colors samples (or host buffers) for human viewing.
Internal equivalent	`FilmShadingMode` and related host recipes (DepthHeatmap, NormalRGB, NdotV, …)
Measures or displays	Displays only; does not define a sealed instrument channel
Claim boundary	Changing Display Mode must not change outcome histograms
Confused with	Instrument · sealed geometry channels · outcome overlay
Example UI	Key N cycles display shading
Example sentence	“NormalRGB is a Display Mode, not a proof that `geometry.normal` is sealed.”

Instruments¶


Public definition	Named measurements that produce portable observation records (semantic, geometric, field, transport, or process-history).
Internal equivalent	Instrument tier + channel IDs (e.g. `cathedral.probe.outcome`); OI headless fixtures are a sibling evidence lane
Measures or displays	Measures defined quantities into channels
Claim boundary	Each instrument measures only its defined quantity
Confused with	HUD chrome · Field Dial alone · Display Mode
Example UI	Semantic outcome instrument vs planned geometric instruments
Example sentence	“Instruments seal channels; Display Modes only paint them.”

Inspector¶


Public definition	Panel for context, validity, counts, histograms, and dependencies for the current plate or snapshot.
Internal equivalent	Tab telemetry / probe detail / host side panel
Measures or displays	Explains records; does not create new physics
Claim boundary	Numbers and context only—not OI PASS and not physical truth
Confused with	Field Dial · Evidence Console · Transport Lens plate
Example UI	Tab opens the Inspector
Example sentence	“Open the Inspector for HitGeometry counts before interpreting NormalRGB.”

Region Probe¶


Public definition	Tooling that records per-sample transport outcomes, finds Unresolved Regions, and can request deeper Transport Effort on a selection.
Internal equivalent	Cathedral Probe Stage 0 architecture (`ProbeOutcomeCode`, region analysis, refinement, snapshot lifecycle)
Measures or displays	Semantic outcomes, region labels, refinement levels
Claim boundary	Architectural metaphor—not wormhole proof or religious physics
Confused with	Beauty render · entire product name · lasso-on-magenta
Example UI	P probe deeper; J/K cycle regions (when wired)
Example sentence	“Use the Region Probe only on Complete SNAPSHOT outcome planes.”

Vs Cathedral Probe: same subsystem; Region Probe is public UI language; Cathedral Probe remains architecture/lab naming.


Public definition	Re-running transport for samples in a selected outcome-defined region under higher effort policy, then recording semantic class changes.
Internal equivalent	Selected-region refinement; `ProbeRefinementSummary`; refinement level channel
Measures or displays	Effort history + class transitions
Claim boundary	Resolved only means prior max-steps → HitGeometry \| BackgroundResolved; deeper ≠ truer
Confused with	Full-frame re-render · ML adaptation · mesh LOD
Example UI	P on selected Unresolved Region
Example sentence	“Region Refinement raises Transport Effort on the outline—watch the counts.”

Transport Effort¶


Public definition	How much computational work the integrator was allowed or used (policy max and/or steps used).
Internal equivalent	`StepsPerRay` / refined max steps / steps used (when recorded)
Measures or displays	Numerical policy budget—not energy or time
Claim boundary	Not proper time, coordinate time, or physical energy; not Field Strength
Confused with	Field strength · path length · “try harder = truth”
Example UI	Refinement raises effort on selected samples
Example sentence	“Transport Effort is a step budget, not field magnitude.”

Path Length¶


Public definition	Summed length of the discrete path a sample took in scene space until termination, when recorded.
Internal equivalent	Integrated path length / Σ step lengths
Measures or displays	Scene-length proxy (planned as sealed `transport.path_length`)
Claim boundary	Not optical path in materials; not proper time unless a named model defines otherwise
Confused with	Depth-to-first-hit · step count · field strength
Example UI	Grayed-out until sealed channel ships
Example sentence	“Path Length, when sealed, is scene units—not cosmic time.”

Status: planned / partial for “exists now.”

Closure¶


Public definition	Property that samples or world directions remain enclosed under a stated straight or policy test (hermetic teaching).
Internal equivalent	Hermetic enclosure / hit-closure language in gallery docs
Measures or displays	Policy-relative enclosure, not free metaphor for any pink blob
Claim boundary	Relative to policy and geometry—not physical isolation of a universe
Confused with	Unresolved Regions · portal throat · Complete snapshot
Example UI	Hermetic shell experiments
Example sentence	“Closure is an enclosure test, not an Unresolved Region outline.”

Unresolved Regions¶


Public definition	Connected groups of samples whose sealed outcome is unresolved under probe policy (default: budget/step exhaustion).
Internal equivalent	Components on `MaxStepsExhausted`; `cathedral.probe.region_label`
Measures or displays	Semantic region membership
Claim boundary	Unresolved ≠ empty space ≠ wormhole; may persist after refinement
Confused with	Legacy magenta blocks · BackgroundResolved · Closure
Example UI	Outline from region_label, never from RGB flood-fill
Example sentence	“Unresolved Regions come from the outcome map.”

Evidence Console¶


Public definition	Place where qualified runs, recipes, and fixture evidence are launched and reviewed under guardrails.
Internal equivalent	ObservatoryWorkbench / TestBench / OI diagnostics recipes
Measures or displays	Recipe-bound PASS/FAIL and archives
Claim boundary	PASS applies to named fixtures/recipes, not live free roam
Confused with	Inspector · Transport Lens · marketing gallery
Example UI	Esc / Workbench
Example sentence	“The Evidence Console runs sealed recipes; free roam is exploration.”

Experiment Gallery¶


Public definition	Curated list of scenes and experiments with fixed poses, instruments, and claim boundaries.
Internal equivalent	Scene catalog / sample worlds / docs experiments
Measures or displays	Menu of contexts—not automatic full instrument coverage
Claim boundary	Listing a scene ≠ every instrument implemented for it
Confused with	Evidence runs · Glowing Heart fixture browser versions
Example UI	Scene cards (Hermetic, Portal Seam, …)
Example sentence	“Pick Hermetic Calibration from the Experiment Gallery.”

Explicit distinctions (summary)¶

Pair	Distinction
Transport Lens vs free-roam camera	Instrument path vs locomotion pose
Observation Plate vs viewport	Mapped samples vs 3D world view
Display Mode vs Instrument	Color recipe vs measured channel
Region Probe vs Cathedral Probe	Public UI vs architecture name
Transport Effort vs field strength	Step budget vs field dial policy scale
Path Length vs depth	Integrated path vs first-hit distance mapping
Closure vs Unresolved Regions	Enclosure test vs max-steps components

Cross-term map¶

Public	Internal touchpoints
Transport Lens	`GrinFilmCamera` / film path
Observation Plate	FilmView / plate
Display Mode	`FilmShadingMode`
Instruments	Channel + tier IDs
Inspector	Tab telemetry
Region Probe	Cathedral Probe subsystem
Region Refinement	Selected-region refine (P)
Evidence Console	ObservatoryWorkbench / TestBench
Transport Effort	Step budget / refine policy
Path Length	Integrated path (planned sealed)
Closure	Hermetic enclosure tests
Unresolved Regions	`MaxStepsExhausted` components

Claims vocabulary must not enable¶

Physical wormhole confirmation
Coordinate / proper time as measured
Material normal maps from NormalRGB
Magenta = no hit / MaxStepsExhausted
Deeper = truer
Complete snapshot = correct beauty plate
Field FULL = universal physical maximum
Fixture PASS = live free-roam OK

Version¶

Observatory Public Vocabulary v1 (canonical GitHub Pages form). Prior draft path: learn/observatory_public_vocabulary_v1.md (retained as alias pointer).

Display ≠ probe.