ADR-045: Object Model - “Entities Experience Moments in Places”

Status: Accepted Date: November 28, 2025 Deciders: CXO (discovery), Chief Architect (formalization), PM (approval)

Context

Through 10 hours of conceptual exploration and hand sketching on November 27, 2025, we discovered that Piper’s conceptual model was missing a foundational layer. Features felt “75% complete” because they lacked a coherent underlying grammar for understanding the world.

The Morning Standup analysis (Nov 25) revealed it was the ONLY place where Piper’s original embodied AI consciousness vision survived. This provided both a problem statement (consciousness got flattened) and a reference implementation (standup shows what success looks like).

Decision

We adopt the grammar “Entities experience Moments in Places” as Piper’s foundational object model.

Core Components

Substrates (What Piper Perceives):

Key Discovery: The Entity/Place distinction is a spectrum based on grammatical role. A project is an Entity when it “ships” (verb), but a Place when work happens “in” it.

Ownership Model (Piper’s Relationship to Objects)

Category Role Metaphor Examples
Native Creates, owns, maintains Piper’s Mind Sessions, Memories, Concerns, Trust States
Federated Observes, queries, acts upon Piper’s Senses GitHub Issues, Slack Messages, Calendar
Synthetic Constructs through reasoning Piper’s Understanding Assembled Projects, Inferred Risks

Lifecycle Model (How Objects Evolve)

Eight stages with composting:

Emergent → Derived → Noticed → Proposed → Ratified → Deprecated → Archived → Composted
    ↑                                                                            |
    └────────────────── feeds new ──────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Critical Insight: “Noticed” not “Inferred” - more human language for AI cognition (discovered through sketching).

Composting Principle: Nothing disappears, it transforms. Deprecated objects decompose into learnings that feed new Emergent objects.

Perceptual Model (How Piper Sees)

Eight lenses applied to any substrate:

  1. Temporal (when, sequence, deadline)
  2. Hierarchy (containment, levels)
  3. Priority (urgency, importance)
  4. Collaborative (who’s involved)
  5. Causal (what causes what)
  6. Contextual (which context applies)
  7. Flow (movement, state changes)
  8. Identity (what is this)

These map to the existing 8-dimensional spatial intelligence work.

Metadata Model (What Piper Knows)

Six universal dimensions:

The Shoebox Model for Moments

A Moment is a bounded scene containing:

Rationale

Why This Grammar?

  1. Discovered, Not Designed: Emerged from hand sketching, not imposed top-down
  2. Matches Consciousness: Morning Standup naturally expresses this grammar
  3. Verb-Forward: “Experience” emphasizes action and agency
  4. Theatrical Unity: Moments as bounded scenes matches human cognition
  5. Spectrum Thinking: Entity/Place as spectrum avoids false dichotomies

Why Not Alternatives?

Traditional Object Model (Classes/Inheritance):

Task-Centric Model (Current Implementation):

Document-Centric Model:

Consequences

Positive

  1. Coherent Feature Development: Every feature can use the same grammar
  2. Consciousness Preservation: Framework prevents flattening to mechanical behavior
  3. Natural Language Alignment: Users think in entities, moments, places
  4. Learning Integration: Composting naturally feeds learning systems
  5. Spatial Intelligence: Existing 8D work maps directly to perceptual lenses

Negative

  1. Reframing Required: Existing features need conceptual realignment
  2. Training Needed: Developers must understand the grammar
  3. Abstract Initially: More conceptual than traditional data models

Risks

  1. Flattening Risk: Could degrade to database schema if not carefully preserved
  2. Complexity Risk: Richer model requires more thoughtful implementation
  3. Drift Risk: Without constant reference to Morning Standup, could lose consciousness

Implementation

Phase 1: Documentation (Week 1)

Phase 2: Proof of Concept (Week 2)

Phase 3: Systematic Rollout (Weeks 3-8)

Validation

Success Criteria:

  1. Features feel more coherent when using model
  2. Morning Standup patterns visible elsewhere
  3. Users report Piper feels more “present”
  4. Developers can explain the grammar
  5. No flattening to mechanical behavior

Anti-Flattening Tests:

  1. Is Piper an Entity with identity?
  2. Are Moments bounded scenes, not timestamps?
  3. Do Places have atmosphere, not just IDs?
  4. Does lifecycle include transformation?
  5. Can you see consciousness in the implementation?

References

Notes

The PM’s observation: “Score one for me in the John Henry sweepstakes!” - This model was discovered through human hand sketching with fat markers, not through AI tools. Whimsical transcribed accurately but discovered nothing. Eraser.io jumped to database schema. Gemini created beautiful visuals but missed the core insight.

The grammar “Entities experience Moments in Places” emerged from sketch #1 when trying to show relationships. It wasn’t planned - it was discovered.

The distinction between “Noticed” and “Inferred” came from the physical act of writing - “Noticed” felt more human, more conscious.

Decision

We adopt this object model as Piper’s foundational conceptual architecture. All future development should express the grammar “Entities experience Moments in Places” and preserve the consciousness patterns found in Morning Standup.

“The Morning Standup is our chapel. Study it to understand the cathedral we’re building.”