NDR Glossary
Key terms and concepts in the Nested Domain Reality framework
Access State (s)
The conditions an observer must meet to engage with a particular domain. This includes instruments (microscope, telescope), physiology (eyes, lungs), location, or state of consciousness. Access determines which domain you experience.
Base Reality
In simulation theory, the 'real' world outside the simulation. NDR rejects this concept—there is no external 'base' reality. Reality is one continuous structure, not a simulation with an outside.
Continuity
The principle that reality is one unbroken structure. Domains are not separate or disconnected—they are nested within each other in a continuous whole. No branching, no copies.
Domain
A bounded region of reality with specific structural conditions. Domains are not separate universes or simulations—they are nested layers within one continuous reality. Examples include cells, bodies, planets, and galaxies.
Falsifiability
The scientific criterion that a theory must make predictions that could be proven wrong. NDR is falsifiable: if routing is not access-dependent, or if domains don't have boundaries, NDR fails.
Multiverse
The idea that many separate universes exist alongside ours. NDR differs: there is one reality with nested domains, not many separate realities. What appear as 'different worlds' are layers of the same structure.
Nesting
The structural relationship where domains exist inside other domains, like Russian dolls. Cells nest inside bodies, bodies inside ecosystems, ecosystems inside planets. Expressed mathematically as dᵢ > dⱼ.
Observer
Any system capable of engaging with a domain through its access state. Observers don't create reality—they route to different parts of an already-existing structure based on their conditions.
Parallel Worlds
The idea of multiple versions of reality running side-by-side. NDR differs: there are no alternate Earths or parallel copies. Different 'worlds' are different scales or layers of one continuous structure.
Prediction
Testable outcomes that NDR expects. Examples: observable transitions when crossing domain boundaries, access-dependent quantum measurements, and water as a structural requirement for biological domains.
Projection (π)
What an observer actually perceives—a partial, structured rendering of the domain they're currently routed to. Expressed as πᵢ : Ω → Ωᵢ. You never see all of reality at once; you see a projection based on your access.
Routing R(s)
The process by which an observer's access state determines which domain becomes their experienced reality. Expressed as R(s) = d. Access selects, it does not create. The routing process is deterministic based on your setup.
Scale
Not just 'size' but which domain you have access to. Microscopic, human, planetary, and cosmic scales are different domains, not just different zoom levels. Scale is structural, not merely spatial.
Simulation Theory
The idea that reality is a computer-generated program running on hardware in a 'base reality.' NDR differs: reality is real, not simulated, and structured as nested domains rather than computed layers.
Testability
The requirement that NDR makes falsifiable predictions that can be tested experimentally. Examples include transition signatures at domain boundaries and access-dependent observations.
Underlying Reality (Ω)
The complete, continuous structure of reality that exists independent of observation. Domains are bounded regions within Ω. What you experience is a projection of Ω, not Ω itself.