Concepts in Plain Language

Concepts In Plain Language

PIC uses some theory terms, but the working ideas are practical.

Candidate

A candidate is something that might be useful but is not yet verified.

Examples:

• an agent answer;
• a repository finding;
• a web page excerpt;
• a message from another agent;
• a proposed reusable abstraction;
• a claimed proof, trace, or test result.

PIC treats candidates as data to check, not as facts to trust.

Packet

A packet is a structured unit of work. Plain-language equivalent: a reusable work item candidate. It says:

• what the candidate claims;
• where it came from;
• which evidence references support it;
• which verifier routes may apply;
• which receiver or workflow could use it;
• what residual work remains.

Evidence

Evidence is a concrete reference that a checker can inspect. PIC separates evidence from labels and metadata.

For example, "this passed" is metadata. A hash, schema-checked record, signed attestation, verifier report, or replayable artifact is closer to evidence.

Proof Obligation

A proof obligation is a required check that has not yet been discharged.

PIC keeps obligations visible so an agent can route them later. Missing obligations should not be rewritten as success.

Residual Ledger

A residual ledger is an explicit list of unresolved debt, limits, uncertainty, or external assumptions.

Residuals are not noise. They are the part of the report that prevents silent overclaiming.

Workflow Usable

workflow_usable=true means the compact agent report can guide next safe actions.

It does not mean the claim is fully proved. It means PIC found a useful next routing path while keeping unresolved work visible.

Semantic Edge

A semantic edge is a checked relation between two things.

Examples:

• theorem to code;
• code to test;
• obligation to verifier;
• execution path;
• rollback support;
• abstraction transport.

The point is not just that two records are linked. The relation must satisfy a finite check or remain an obligation.

Promotion

Promotion means a packet moved from candidate status to verified packet capital for a declared scope.

Promotion requires checks such as evidence, route, receiver compatibility, authority, rollback, semantic edges, identity policy, and residual policy.

Salience Queue

A salience queue decides what should be handled next.

PIC's SQOT layer keeps diagnostic reserve, stale packets, hazards, cost, and residual reduction visible. It is a scheduling layer, not a truth oracle.

Plain-language equivalent: a finite task scheduler.

Phase Ecology Lab

Phase Ecology Lab is a local workbench for looking at several reports at once.

Instead of asking only "did one output pass?", it asks "what does this small window of work show?" It can build a graph, find closure candidates, show execution-available paths, and keep the remaining work visible.

It is still diagnostic-only. It does not run commands or prove that the work is finished.

Abstraction Capital

Abstraction capital is a reusable idea, trace, tool pattern, or packet that has enough evidence to reduce future work in a scoped way.

PIC's ALT layer asks whether reuse is really cheaper after formation, validation, transport, maintenance, depreciation, hazard, and residual costs.

Collective Phase Certificate

A collective phase certificate is a protocol-relative report about a fixed population, packet registry, execution availability, queue state, hazards, and thresholds.

It can support finite workflow decisions. It does not prove real ASI, physical outcomes, oracle outcomes, or policy success.

Live Intake

Live intake means PIC can read an explicitly supplied web, feed, repository, or connector source under bounded rules.

It is not background browsing. It does not make external content true. It turns external content into candidate packets with provenance, residuals, and next verifier routes.

The Most Important Distinction

PIC separates these ideas:

• what an agent says;
• what metadata declares;
• what finite checks accepted;
• what remains unresolved.

This separation is the main value of the system.