Seattle Method

In a blog post, What we are Building ,  LodgeiT Labs explains an accounting substrate which they are building.  In describing that accounting substrate, they use the term "manifold".  A manifold is a mathematical structure.  More specifically, a manifold is an idea related to topology . To understand the notion of manifolds requires working knowledge of calculus and topology. But this is important to accounting, so I am going to try and explain this in simple terms. In topology, a manifold is defined as a topological space that locally resembles Euclidean space. That means if you zoom in on any small region of a manifold, it looks like ordinary flat space, even though the entire shape may be curved or complex globally. Think of topology as the rules of connectivity and manifolds as the spaces that obey those rules while still looking locally flat. What this means in terms of accounting is that while accounting transactions might look like a simple list, you can act...

Every type of artificial intelligence has a set of specific capabilities and a set of specific limitations. Neuro-symbolic artificial intelligence with human teaming takes the best capabilities of each type of machine and combines that with the best capabilities of humans. The strengths of each is used to  remedy the weaknesses of each and the sum of what results is better than any of the individual approaches used individually. The complete quadrant. The four agent workflow model.  A multi-agent workflow . Within teams, agents cooperate to improve the overall performance of the group. Teaming is the only way to safely deploy certain systems in complex, high-stakes, high-risk environments where there is low or even zero tolerance for error. And this includes human intelligence, human agents, as part of the team.  Human intelligence is an integrated component, not just a passive user.  Besides, human intelligence and machine intelligence are different.  My worki...

NFTs ( non-fungible tokens ) are all the rage these days; but understanding exactly what an NFT is can be challenging.  This article, 7 Things You Should Know about NFTs , is a good place to start learning about NFTs. Understanding NFTs is easier when you understand the characteristics of an NFT.  The following are the characteristics of an NFT: Non-interoperable : NFTs are unique and unlike fungible tokens which are all the same basically and any one is just as good as any other; NFTs are not interchangeable. Indivisible : NFTs cannot be divided into smaller denominations.  Indestructible : NFTs are stored on the blockchain and can never be destroyed.  Verifiable : Because NFTs exist on a blockchain they can be traced back to the original creator . This video, Could Enjin SUPERCHARGE Gaming NFTs?! (at minute 6:50) points out three aspects of determining value of an asset:  Rarity : How scarce is it? Provenance : Where did it come from? Quality/Utility : How go...

A "list" and a "ledger" are not the same thing. A ledger is a formal computational substrate. A list is a collection of items. A ledger stores state. A list is inert. A ledger is dynamic: every ledger entry changes the state of the system. A list is descriptive. A ledger is computational. A ledger is essentially a model of financial reality, not just a record of items contained in a list. A list is just an ordered collection of items but there is no description of the relationship between the items in the list. A ledger is a governed, rule‑bound, balanced record of financial events with the relationship between the financial events explained/described. A list has no semantics, no structure, and no logic. A ledger has semantics, structure, and logic baked in. A ledger is a sequenced append-only committed formal record.  A ledger is more than a database you query for current state.  A ledger is an  immutable record of what changed, when it changed, and under what auth...

Mereology is the science of parts and wholes: what they are, how they relate, and how complex things are built from simpler ones.  Mereology is the theory of parthood relations: of the relations of part to whole and the relations of part to part within a whole. A Taxonomy of Whole-Part Relations  points out that part-whole relations can be broken out into six different groups: component-integral object : for example (pedal – bike) the pedal is an integral part of the bicycle member-collection : for example (ship – fleet) each ship is a member of the fleet portion-mass : for example (slice – pie) a slice is a portion of a pie stuff-object : for example (steel – car) steel is the stuff from which the car is made feature-activity : for example (paying – shopping) paying is a feature or component of shopping place-area : for example (Everglades – Florida) the Everglades is a place within Florida The following graphic shows the different possible who...

This article describes the Theory of the Financial Reporting Framework .  A general purpose financial statement is a formal semantic structure .  That formal semantic structure of such a general purpose financial statement is described by the accounting equation and double entry bookkeeping model and a reporting framework.  It is that double entry bookkeeping model which differentiates "bookkeeping" from  general "recordkeeping" .  This is part of the essence of accounting . To the untrained eye, it might not look like it; but a financial reporting framework fundamentally prescribes where information from a set of business events must be reported within a financial statement. The Theory of Accounting and Control ,  Resources, Events, Agents (REA) , and ISO/IEC Accounting and Economic Ontology  each point this out. A general purpose financial statement provides quantitative financial information and nonfinancial information, aggregations and disaggreg...