Notation & Glossary

Appendix A. Every symbol used in the book, defined once.

The chapters introduce symbols where they're first needed; this is the single place they're all collected. A few letters are reused with different meanings in different layers — those collisions are flagged explicitly at the bottom, because they trip up first-time readers.

Populations and objects

SymbolMeaningFirst used
Fthe set of resolvers — capital holders who retroactively declare verdictsMarket
Pthe set of forecasters — specialists who publish predictionsMarket
Qthe set of candidates / questions under evaluationMarket
qa single question, with outcome space Ω_qMarket
i, jindex a forecaster (i ∈ P) and a resolver (j ∈ F)Market

The scoring engine

SymbolMeaningFirst used
p_{i,q,t}forecaster i's probability distribution on q at time tMarket
r_{j,q}resolver j's subjective verdict on qMarket
S(p, ω)strictly proper scoring rule; canonically log score ln p(ω)Market
p_refreference belief (consensus just before an update); the subtraction baselineMarket
w_ttime weight (can up-weight earlier forecasts)Market
ρ_{i,j,q}reward to i from j on q — marginal movement toward the verdictMarket
R_{i,j}forecaster i's reputation with resolver j = Σ_q ρ_{i,j,q}Market
B_jresolver j's reward budgetMarket
p*the money-optimal forecast (= capital-weighted predicted consensus)Market
EU(i→j)decision-value of i's information to j ("extrapolated utility")Math Core §2.5
u_qper-question reward-budget factor, set ∝ value-of-informationMath Core §2.5

Reflexivity

SymbolMeaningFirst used
θthe true state of a questionMath Core §2
πa forecaster's honest posterior given evidenceImmunity
λdeference weight — fraction of a verdict driven by the published forecastImmunity
g(p)the resolver's deference-response functionImmunity
Ldeference slope = λ · sup\|g'\|; safety condition L < 1 (= V1)Immunity
σ(θ)signal-driven verdict probability (the non-deferring part)Math Core §2

Independence (the immune system)

SymbolMeaningFirst used
Σresidual-correlation matrix across agents (after conditioning on public info)Immunity
n_effeffective population = 1ᵀ Σ⁻¹ 1; the stack's one security parameterImmunity
ρ (here)pairwise correlation within a Sybil cluster — not the reward ρ aboveImmunity
knumber of accounts in a cluster (or replication count, §1.4)Immunity
hhonest fraction of an executor poolMath Core §1.4
ν_iagent i's marginal n_eff, gating its UBI shareMath Core §4.3

Coupling (the merge field)

SymbolMeaningFirst used
κ(a,b)accumulated coupling surplus (fate-sharing) between two partiesCoupling
G, Cexploitable shared structure / coordination cost; couple iff G − C > 0Math Core §10.3
votes(bloc)= √(n_eff · pooled credits) — the delegation formulaGovernance

Money (the metabolism)

SymbolMeaningFirst used
θ_{i,z}agent i's share of pool z (a fragment of a whole; Σ_i θ_{i,z}=1)Money
V_zbasket-value of zone z's resource poolis its money supply (not minted)Money
w_iwealth of i = Σ_z θ_{i,z}·V_z (a portfolio of pool shares)Money
χ(x→y)exchange-rate field over the coordinate space; anchored by basket arbitrageMoney
δ_zzone-local demurrage rate — decay-unless-circulated; the dispersion dialMoney
δ_minthe global demurrage floor (anti-haven; the regulated baseline)Money
b_zzone z per-capita baseline = V_z / n_eff(z) (the local UBI level)Math Core §4
Mtotal money supply = Σ_z V_zMath Core §4
Npopulation, measured in n_eff unitsMath Core §4
e_i, s_iagent i's earn / spend ratesMath Core §4
ēbound on net earning advantageMath Core §4.2
βtarget concentration bound on resolver budgetsMath Core §4.2

The substrate

SymbolMeaningFirst used
MATERIALIZE(V, R)make value V available at spacetime region RMarket
D(v, x, t)demand field — request intensity for value v at location x, time tMath Core §1
p(v, x)price field — posted price of delivering v at x (the substrate's p)Math Core §1
λ_v(x)local demand intensity for v at xnot the deference weight λMath Core §1.2
c_s, c_b, c_cstorage / bandwidth / compute cost coefficientsMath Core §1.1
work(f)reduction-step count of f (the canonical compute unit, from tree calculus)Math Core §1.1

Viability inequalities

The system is viable iff these hold (see Math Core §7):

ConditionPlain meaningChapter
V1L < 1perception dominates action (no dark room)Immunity
V2cost(mimic k) ≥ cost(be k)boundary integrity; n_eff is soundImmunity
V3δ ≥ ē/(M(β−1/N))turnover keeps capital dispersed (enforces A2)Money
V4switching cost < tyranny premiumexit keeps between-network selection aliveEvolution
V5verdicts are ex-post counterfactual contraststhe market stays evidence, never a mechanical ruleFutarchy and Causality

The five assumptions A1–A5 (shared reality, dispersed capital, repeated game, tamper-evident timestamps, non-reflexivity) are defined in The Five Assumptions.

⚠️ Notation collisions

The same letter carries different meanings across layers. The four to watch:

  • F = the resolver set in the engine, but the free-energy functional F_a in Math Core §0. (Context always disambiguates: a set of people vs. a quantity to minimize.)
  • ρ = the reward contribution ρ_{i,j,q} in the engine, but a pairwise correlation in the n_eff formula.
  • λ = the deference weight in reflexivity, but λ_v(x) is local demand intensity in the substrate.
  • p = a forecast distribution p_{i,q,t} in the engine, but p(v,x) is the price field in the substrate.

These overlaps are inherited from each layer's own conventional notation; they were kept rather than invent non-standard symbols.