# Symbolic / Representational **Trait Number:** 17 **Layer:** Abstract **Bit Position:** 1 (bit 17 overall) **Binary Encoding:** `00000000 00000000 10000000 00000000` **UHT Code (self-encoding):** `00 00 80 00` --- # Icon ![[Icon17.png|200]] ## Definition The entity functions as a **symbol, model, representation, or stand-in** for something else. It encodes meaning, stands for, refers to, or depicts a concept, object, or system. --- ## When to Apply Use this trait when the entity: - **Refers to or models** something beyond itself - Conveys **meaning, abstraction, or substitution** - **Embodies a concept** in a reduced or communicable form Avoid applying if the entity: - Exists **purely in physical or functional terms** - **Does not encode or imply anything else** - Has **no interpretable reference or mapping** --- ## Related Traits - [[00 00 40 00 Communicative]] — Often paired: symbolic elements are typically used to convey meaning. - [[00 00 10 00 Hierarchical or modular]] — Representations may model part-whole structure. - [[00 00 04 00 Self-referential or meta-conceptual]] — Some symbols refer to themselves or their own system. --- ## Examples - A flag representing a nation - A logo representing a brand - A map representing terrain - A variable in code - A religious icon or mathematical symbol - A conceptual model or abstraction in a diagram --- ## Commentary This trait distinguishes **semiotic entities** — things that carry meaning by **standing in for** something else. It applies in language, design, modeling, data structures, art, and mathematics. A symbolic entity may or may not be visible (see trait 30), but its **primary function is referential**. Even physical signs (like arrows) are symbolic if interpreted as meaning something beyond their material form. --- **© 2025 Steven Holland. All rights reserved.** [[Copyright Statement]]