Scope note for the class Observable Entity – S15  Back

Candidate

Scope note

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This class comprises instances of E5 Event or S10 Material Substantial (i.e. items or phenomena, such as physical things, their behaviour, states and interactions or events), that can be observed by measurement or detection devices or by human sensory impression including when enhanced by tools. In order to be observable, instances of E5 Event must consist of some interaction or action of material substance. In some cases, the spatiotemporal confinement of the event itself, such as a flash, a car stopping etc. marks the limits of a documented observation of an event. In other cases, such as the situation of a car passing by a certain object, the spatiotemporal limits of the event of observing itself, as well as the direction of attention or the orientation of used instruments, may constrain the observed detail of a larger process, e.g., noticing the sight of a car passing by; a light emission, etc. Conceptual objects manifest through their carriers such as books, digital media, or even human memory. Attributes of conceptual objects, such as number of words, can be observed on their carriers. If the respective properties between carriers differ, either they carry different instances of conceptual objects or the difference can be attributed to accidental deficiencies in one of the carriers. In that sense even immaterial objects are observable. By this model we address the fact that frequently, the actually observed carriers of conceptual objects are not explicitly identified in documentation, i.e., they are assumed to have existed but they are unknown as individuals.

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en

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