## What Is UHT? The **Universal Hex Taxonomy (UHT)** is a 32-bit semantic fingerprinting system that encodes the essential identity of any entity—physical or abstract—across four semantic layers: **Physical**, **Functional**, **Abstract**, and **Social**. Each of the 32 binary traits represents a distinct and foundational property, allowing UHT to create compact, explainable representations of meaning across domains. UHT is: - **Compact**: A full identity in just 8 hexadecimal characters - **Explainable**: Each bit maps to a named trait with a human-readable definition - **Universal**: Applicable across physical artifacts, digital systems, social constructs, and symbolic forms - **Bidirectional**: You can generate or decode a UHT code easily ## The 32-Bit Structure UHT codes are always 8-character hexadecimal strings composed of four 8-bit segments: |Layer|Bits|Hex Pair|Scope| |---|---|---|---| |Physical|1–8|1st pair|Materiality, structure, tangibility| |Functional|9–16|2nd pair|Purpose, operation, system role| |Abstract|17–24|3rd pair|Logic, temporality, representation| |Social|25–32|4th pair|Cultural, identity, governance| Each trait is either **Included (1)** or **Excluded (0)**. This yields a binary string (e.g. `11001110 11110110 01110010 00010111`) that becomes the hex code: `CEF67217`. [[Why use Hex]] ## Encoding Philosophy UHT uses a **minimalist and critical inclusion** model: - **Include a trait only if it is intrinsic** to the entity’s identity - Traits must be **structurally or functionally embedded**, not contextually attributed - Avoid "trait inflation" by not encoding things the entity merely interacts with or exists within ### Inclusion Criteria Include a trait if it is: - **Structurally inseparable** (e.g. physical frame, onboard sensor) - **Functionally designed-in** (e.g. emits signal, processes input) - **Logically entailed** (e.g. algorithmic, governed by timing) ### Exclusion Criteria Exclude a trait if it is: - **Only contextually applied** (e.g. used in biology, but not bio-inspired) - **Secondary or metaphorical** (e.g. called a "heart" but not a biological entity) - **Socially interpreted rather than embedded** (e.g. famous, but not symbolically designed) ## How to Read a UHT Code Example: `FAF72231` - `FA` = Physical traits: highly structured, man-made, bio-inspired - `F7` = Functional traits: emits output, autonomous, system-critical - `22` = Abstract traits: logical, temporal - `31` = Social traits: identity-linked, regulated, widely known ## How to Encode an Entity 1. Read the 32 trait definitions 2. Ask: Is each trait **intrinsic** to the entity? 3. If yes, mark it as `1` (Included). If no, mark `0` 4. Convert each 8 bits into hex (left to right) 5. Concatenate the 4 hex pairs → This is your UHT code ## Example: Autonomous Drone - Binary: `11001110 11110110 01110010 00010111` - Hex: `CEF67217` - Traits: [1, 2, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12, 14, 15, 18, 19, 20, 23, 28, 30, 31, 32] ## Use Cases UHT can be used for: - **Systems modeling** (e.g. digital twins, MBSE) - **Explainable AI** (bit-based trait deltas) - **Ontology compression** (compact ID layer) - **Education** (trait-based concept scaffolding) - **Creative design** (archetypes, tools, symbols) ## Comparison with Other Systems | System |UHT Advantage| | -------------- | ----------------------------------------- | | RDF / OWL |Compact, fixed-length, human-readable| | GPT embeddings |Fully explainable, not opaque| | Taxonomies |Cross-domain, binary, composable| | |Trait-based identity layer over SysML/UML| ## Further Resources - [[Canonical Traits]] - [[Validation Entities]] - [[HexLens Decoder + Encoder v0.3]] - [[Hex Challenge]] ## Versioning UHT v1.0 — Trait definitions and layer order are fixed. Future versions may explore weighted traits, trait grouping, or domain-specific extensions. --- _Universal Hex Taxonomy is a semantic compression system for systems thinkers, AI designers, educators, and ontologists — a compact grammar of identity across domains._