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Reality and Representation

Every research object is a representation. A statement, table, image, measurement, quotation, model, or narrative is not the thing itself. It is a mediated record created under particular conditions.

This matters because representations can fail in different ways:

  • an observation may be incomplete;
  • a measurement may be inaccurate;
  • a source may be misquoted;
  • a classification may impose the wrong categories;
  • a model may explain one region of evidence while failing elsewhere;
  • a polished summary may conceal unresolved conflict.

QLens therefore preserves context around representations: provenance, status, relationships, verification, and revision history. The goal is not to eliminate mediation. That is impossible. The goal is to make mediation visible enough to examine.