Physical things and representations

People use photographs, scans, written accounts, replicas, numerical representations, conversational software while referring to a possession. Staff identify the original instance, the author or process producing the representation, its date, scope, permitted uses.

An examiner can inspect geometry in a scan, handle the possession to examine weight or operation, compare its condition after scanning. A photographer documents selected visible details through an authored view. Software uses an embedding for a specified comparison or an object-associated agent for responses from selected records. Staff explain the source and scope before using a representation.

After loss or destruction, staff can retain permitted records while recording the material change. A replacement receives a separate identity linked to the earlier account. Generated narration may influence a later encounter and become part of its history. Staff attribute that narration rather than treating it as a direct memory of the physical thing. Material discontinuity and narration modes develop these cases.