Six Invariants as DNA — Freely Lensed

Capture

Every YY's World artifact must satisfy all 6 YY Method compliance criteria:

Compression · Scars · Survivability · Explainability · Timestamping · Discipline

These are the invariants — the DNA of the method. They emerged from an early version of the YY Method, conceived as a 5-finger hand signal and a 6th palm. They are not a template. They are criteria. An artifact is valid when all 6 can be traced through it, whatever surface shape it takes.

The operator lenses them freely. Any form is acceptable — story, log, rant, sketch, poem, structured record — as long as Compression, Scars, Survivability, Explainability, Timestamping, and Discipline are all traceable in the result.

Why

A template constrains form. Criteria constrain validity. The distinction opens the creative space entirely while closing the escape routes from rigor.

A template would produce entries that look like entries but might be empty at the invariant level. The criteria approach produces entries that might look like anything but are structurally complete. A kid reading a story about YY practicing violin doesn't know they're reading a Survivability artifact. But the artifact survives because the invariant was honored, whatever the surface was.

The 6 are also what make AI co-production possible and bounded. AI can generate any surface form. The operator verifies the 6 traces. That verification is the governance. Without it, AI produces admirable constructions that threaten cognitive theft — exactly what happened with C2-001 through C2-012.

Why-Not

Why not the AI-invented 6-field schema? DECISION · WHY · WHY-NOT · BREAKS IF · EXPIRES · YY'S TAKE was an entirely fabricated template with no grounding in the YY Method. It forced the form while leaving the criteria unverified. Preserved as C2-005 — a scar.

Why not fewer invariants? The 6 are proven through the method's development. Each does distinct work. Scars without Survivability produces documented failures that don't outlast the moment. Timestamping without Discipline produces dated artifacts that drift. The 6 are a system.

Why not more invariants? The hand and palm are complete. Adding criteria would add complexity without adding rigor. The 6 are sufficient.

Commit

Decision: The 6 invariants are the DNA. Every artifact must trace all 6. The surface form is always open. Operator lenses freely.

Confidence: Absolute — this is the method itself applied to itself.