How does Articulation work?

Articulation shows how a term (and therefore a glyph) fits within a sentence. The design document lays out the details here, but we are just going to hit the highlights.

All images in this tutorial were created using the game. The blue or black spokes are the added spokes in the examples below. The yellow or invisible spokes are not present. (clicking on a blue or yellow spoke will bring up a valid term, clicking on a black or invisible spoke will not)

FYI: Ideally, you should read this tutorial on a "big screen" device (like a personal computer) and follow along by duplicating the glyphs (on a hand-held device or using the game in a separate tab or window) for each example.

Articulation supplies Qualifiers, Operators, Specifiers, Modifiers and Actors (verbs). Actors have already been exhaustively deconstructed here. We will cover each of the other Articulation categories in turn.

• Qualifiers
• Time Qualification
• Social Qualification
• Place Qualification
• Logic Qualification
• Operators
• Time Operations
• Social Operations
• Math Operations
• Logic Operations
• Specifiers / Modifiers
• Objects
• Classes
• Purposes
• Operations

Some of these examples are a bit thin because we are using the term 'box' in places where time or people or places or math or logical entities might be more appropriate. The major reason for this is that we wanted to keep the examples as simple and consistent as possible. A secondary reason is that we wish to show that Articulation terms can be used anyplace that they make sense. A "Time Qualification" term like "before" might also be used to describe an entry in a dictionary.

In the examples below, the Articulation layer has been highlighted (using the 'Hint' button). The blue outer spokes specify the Articulation (or syntactic) portion of the term.

Qualifiers

Qualifiers create clauses that describe or organize one or more things. The descriptive form of a Qualifier is usually a "prepositional phrase" in English. This would be something like, "the ball behind the box is red", where "behind the box" is the prepositional phrase. An organizational phrase with a Qualifier would be, "most empty boxes are sad", where 'most' indicates that the boxes have been divided or arranged.

Time Qualification

If we wanted to say that boxes were uncommon hereabouts, we would describe the box as 'occasional'. This term has the Interpolation and Recognition spokes because it focuses attention on something that is a small part of the 'normal flow' of things.

Social Qualification

To describe the boxes that we have managed to obtain, we would say, "the collected boxes". This term has the Interrogation, Extrapolation and Recollection spokes because it recalls our portion of a larger unknown quantity.

If you aren't sure how 'box' became plural, read the Description tutorial.

Place Qualification

If I want to say that something is on the right side of my box, I would say, "to the right of the box". This term has the Depiction, Interpolation and Recollection spokes because it places the box within a larger, known scheme of things.

In the example above, notice that the term "box to the right of" is displayed in the lower left hand corner of the image rather than the English "to the right of the box". This order is used because a glyph is read from the inside to the outside. The inner spokes and laths are read before the outer spokes so 'box' comes before 'to the right of'.

The words "the box" are not present in the example glyphs because Instrumentation does not require a direct article (and there is no room for any articles when a glyph is otherwise Articulated).

Instrumentation is designed to be used by people who can't see one another and probably have never met. A person who receives a glyph can not tell the difference between "the box" and "a box" unless "the box" has already been introduced and distinguished from its boxy brethren as "the original box".

Logic Qualification

If I wanted to buy a box I would inquire as to, "the value of the box". This term has the Depiction, Interrogation, Recognition and Recollection spokes because it assesses a questionable quantity.

Operators

Operators define or create relationships between multiple things. These examples only show a single thing because we are only showing a single glyph, but you are welcome to imagine other glyphs or create them using the game.

Common examples of Operators in English would be "one plus two" or "you and me".

Time Operations

The time operators can be used with non-temporal objects. We might be waiting for, "the next box". This term has the Interpretation, Extrapolation and Recognition spokes because it assumes that the current progression (of boxes) will continue.

Social Operations

If this box played a pivotal role in vanquishing The Bad People(TM), we might be, "honoring the box". (No, I don't know how the box did that. Maybe it contained an anvil and it fell on them.) This term has the Interpretation, Interrogation, Extrapolation, Interpolation and Recognition spokes because 'honor' is never a simple thing, but "you know it when you see it (sometimes)".

Math Operations

If some other thing was less honorable than our box (it is an awesome box), we would say that thing, "is less than the box". This term has the Interpretation, Depiction, Interpolation, Recognition and Recollection spokes because we are estimating its worth based on our experience (with honorable boxes).

Logic Operations

If we wanted to do something when we find a box, we would say, "do something 'on case of a box' being found". This term has the Interpretation, Depiction, Interrogation, Interpolation and Recognition spokes because it specifies an alternative action based on a potential condition.

Specifiers / Modifiers

Specifiers identify single things. Modifiers change single things or distill single things from collective entities. 

Common examples of Specifiers in English would be "the (original) box" or "my box".

Common examples of Modifiers in English would be "deduce as guilty" (using deductive logic) or "the standard deviation is five" (reducing the kurtosis of a Gaussian distribution to a single value).

Objects

Objects are all Specifiers. If I gave you a box, I would say, "It is now 'your box', cherish it always". This term has the Intention, Interpretation, Extrapolation and Recollection spokes because we are remembering that the box belongs to someone other than ourselves.

Classes

Classes are mostly Specifiers. If I wanted something to happen to all the boxes, I would say, "Make the change 'for each box'". This term has the Intention, Interpretation, Interrogation, Interpolation and Recognition spokes because it involves an action or condition for (all) the elements of a collection of unspecified size.

Purposes

Purposes are mostly Modifiers. If this box is your home, you might say "Environmental control 'is a feature of the box'". This term has the Intention, Interpretation, Depiction, Extrapolation, Interpolation and Recollection spokes because a 'feature' is an internal or external element of a larger system which may be defined in multiple ways.

Operations

Operations are all Modifiers. If I was talking about assorted chocolates, I might say "The two hundred candy flavors come 'in combination by box'".  (OK, "in combination by eighteen" is more likely [for the math majors in the audience], but I'm thinking inside the box here)

This term has the Intention, Interpretation, Depiction, Interrogation, Extrapolation, Interpolation and Recollection spokes because it may require every type of qualification except Recognition (because the order of the elements in a mathematical 'combination' doesn't matter). 'Overqualified' terms (such as 'in combination by') are usually defined by the spokes they lack (because it is easier to remember exceptions).