{"schema_version":"0.1","canonical":"https://ouroos.net/null-gate#identity-idea-and-symbol","concept":{"status":"architectural_interpretation","universal_claim":false,"version":"0.1","updated":"2026-08-14","slug":"identity-idea-and-symbol","concept":"Identity, idea and symbol","definition":"A person, the ideas associated with them and the symbols used to represent them are related but not interchangeable.","common_parse":"Names and symbols point toward identity but do not contain the whole person.","architect_parse":"Interpretation should preserve the difference between an originator, a changing body of work and the shorthand others use to discuss either.","distinctions":["A symbol is not its subject.","Critiquing an idea is not erasing a person."],"reasoning_path":["Identify whether the claim concerns a person, proposition or representation.","Keep attribution explicit.","Allow each layer to change independently."],"examples":["Versioning an interpretation without rewriting its author.","Marking a generated representation as representative."],"counterexamples":["Treating a logo as proof of endorsement.","Attributing a visitor's interpretation to the architect."],"boundaries":["Participation is voluntary and attributed only as offered.","No passive fingerprint is treated as identity."],"related_concepts":["assistance-and-authority","stewardship"]}}