This page catalogs symbolic encodings used in the Codex and Obelisk projects.

Each entry records:

  • the symbol or mark
  • what it represents
  • how its meaning is taught without language
  • where it appears in the system

This is not a design manifesto.
It is an inventory.

Format

Each symbol entry should follow this structure:

Symbol:

Category: numeral / operator / structural / physical mark / diagrammatic / other

Represents:
What the symbol encodes.

Teaching Method:
How its meaning is inferred visually or through pattern alone.

Redundancy:
What reinforces the interpretation (repetition, equivalence, scaling, contrast, etc.).

First Appearance:
Where it is introduced in the Codex or Obelisk.

Notes:
Edge cases, ambiguity risks, or future revisions.

Encoded Symbols

(Active inventory below.)

Symbol: 0

Category: numeral

Represents:
Absence of quantity.

Teaching Method:
Shown adjacent to counted marks while having none beneath it; paired with operations such as 1 + 0 = 1.

Redundancy:
Null tally, identity in addition and subtraction.

First Appearance:
Arithmetic primer panel.

Notes:
Serves as anchor for positional notation.

Symbol: 1–9

Category: numeral

Represents:
Discrete quantities.

Teaching Method:
Mapped directly to increasing tally groups.

Redundancy:
Repeated across addition and multiplication examples.

First Appearance:
Arithmetic primer panel.

Notes:
Grouped in fives to emphasize aggregation.

Symbol: =

Category: operator

Represents:
Equivalence between expressions.

Teaching Method:
Pairs different representations of the same quantity.

Redundancy:
Used in multiple arithmetic contexts.

First Appearance:
Arithmetic primer panel.

Notes:
None.

Symbol: +

Category: operator

Represents:
Combination of quantities.

Teaching Method:
Shown alongside tally groups being merged into larger totals.

Redundancy:
Cross-checked with numeral results.

First Appearance:
Arithmetic primer panel.

Notes:
Associative and commutative properties implied later.

Symbol: −

Category: operator

Represents:
Removal of quantity.

Teaching Method:
Illustrated through reduction of tallies and numeric decrease.

Redundancy:
Multiple scales shown.

First Appearance:
Arithmetic primer panel.

Notes:
Zero interactions explicitly demonstrated.

Symbol: *

Category: operator

Represents:
Repeated grouping (multiplication).

Teaching Method:
Second operand shown as repeated addition of the first.

Redundancy:
Confirmed through numeral and tally equivalence.

First Appearance:
Arithmetic primer panel.

Notes:
Orientation symmetry may be expanded.

Symbol: Powers of Ten

Category: numeral structure

Represents:
Decimal scaling.

Teaching Method:
Repeated multiplication by ten generating increasing orders of magnitude.

Redundancy:
Multiple tiers shown (10, 100, 1,000, …).

First Appearance:
Arithmetic primer panel.

Notes:
Establishes positional number system.

Reserved Sections

Future symbol classes may include:

  • division and ratios
  • fractions
  • geometric primitives
  • coordinate systems
  • physical measurement units
  • temporal markers
  • astronomical references

These will be added as inventory entries, not essays.

Status

This page is maintained as a working catalog.

Symbols graduate from experimental sketches into this list once their teaching method is judged robust under long-horizon assumptions.