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Primitives Overview

Intuition's data model is built on three fundamental primitives that work together to create a rich, self-regulating knowledge graph. These primitives form the foundation of the ecosystem and enable the creation of a structured, semantic web of trust.

Atoms

The basic entities or identifiers - unique decentralized identifiers for everything in existence. Think of them as the nodes in the knowledge graph, or the words in the dictionary. Atoms are Intuition's atomic unit of knowledge, enabling unique, persistent, canonical identifiers for all things - not just people.

Triples

Structured relationships or claims linking entities together in Subject-Predicate-Object format. These are the edges in the knowledge graph / the sentences in the language of Intuition. A composition of Atoms - defined as Semantic Triples which represent the relationships between Atoms.

Signals

The weight of Atoms and Triples, derived from the total amount of ETH deposited in Atom and Triple Vaults. These represent the edge weights in the graph, or 'who is saying what about what, with what level of conviction'. The weight of trust or consensus behind each entity or claim, determined by community staking.

The Three Primitives Explained​

Atoms: Universal Identifiers for Everything​

An Atom is a unique decentralized identifier that can reference literally anything – from people and organizations to concepts, data points, or even raw bytes of information. Each Atom acts as a globally referenceable identity in the Intuition system, with an on-chain ID that serves as its permanent, verifiable address.

The digital universe is vast, where everything from tangible objects to abstract concepts can be endowed with a digital identity. Atoms confer unique recognition and definition to persons, places, ideas, or even memes, ensuring each entity's distinct presence. Within Intuition, every Atom is secured by a unique DID (Decentralized Identifier) and an Ethereum wallet address, establishing a verifiable foundation.

What Makes Atoms Unique

Unlike traditional identifiers that are limited to URIs or specific data formats, Atoms can point to arbitrary data (bytes). This means an Atom can reference:

  • Raw strings: Direct text like "Alice", "is friend of", or "2024-01-15"
  • URIs: Web pages, IPFS hashes, blockchain addresses
  • Binary data: Images, documents, encrypted content
  • Structured data: JSON objects, protocol buffers, or any serialized format
  • Abstract concepts: Ideas, emotions, or theoretical constructs

Real-World Atom Examples​

Person Atom

Atom ID: 0x123...
Data: "alice.eth" (ENS name as raw string)

Concept Atom

Atom ID: 0x456...
Data: "trustworthy" (abstract quality)

Data Hash Atom

Atom ID: 0x789...
Data: 0xabcd...ef12 (IPFS content hash as bytes)

Date Atom

Atom ID: 0xabc...
Data: "2024-01-15T09:00:00Z" (ISO timestamp)

Smart Contract Atom

Atom ID: 0xdef...
Data: 0x742d35...8930 (Ethereum contract address)

Atoms are sometimes called "identities" in the protocol because they give any entity – whether tangible or abstract – a persistent, verifiable digital identity that can be referenced and validated by anyone in the network.

Atoms are categorized into three primary roles within semantic structures: Subjects, Predicates, and Objects. This structure facilitates the creation of Triples that articulate specific assertions or facts about the world.

Triples: Expressing Relationships as Claims​

A Triple is a structured claim that follows the semantic format of [Subject] – [Predicate] – [Object], where each component is itself an Atom. This creates a precise, machine-readable way to express facts, relationships, and assertions about the world.

Triples are higher-order structures within Intuition, used to define relationships between Atoms. Each Triple consists of three components: a Subject, Predicate, and Object, all of which are Atoms. This structure enables precise, machine-readable representations of data, facilitating complex and interconnected attestations.

Example Triple Structures​

Social Relationship

[Alice] β€” [is friend of] β€” [Bob]

Each component is an Atom with its own ID, creating a verifiable claim about friendship.

Professional Credential

[Dr. Smith] β€” [has degree] β€” [Harvard Medical School]

Expressing educational credentials as structured data.

Smart Contract Deployment

[UniswapV3] β€” [was deployed on] β€” [2021-05-05]

Recording blockchain events as semantic relationships.

Product Rating

[iPhone 15] β€” [has rating] β€” [4.5 stars]

Capturing user sentiment and product quality metrics.

Compositional Power

Triples can reference other Triples as Atoms, enabling arbitrarily complex statements. For example:

[[Alice is friend of Bob]] β€” [was established on] β€” [2024-01-01]

This meta-claim adds temporal context to the friendship relationship. Triples can be used as Atoms in other Triples, allowing for the expression of arbitrarily complex statements in a standardized format.

In many contexts, Triples are also referred to as Claims or Attestations because they represent assertions that can be verified, disputed, or supported by the community.

Signals: Quantified Trust Through Staking​

Signal represents the aggregated attestation state of an Atom or Triple – essentially, how much the community trusts or believes in that piece of information. Signal is generated through economic staking, where users deposit tokens into an entity's vault to express their conviction.

Signal in Intuition refers to any action that expresses intent, belief, or support within the system. Signals can be explicit, such as voting mechanisms or signed attestations, or implicit, inferred from user behavior.

Positive Signal

Users stake tokens to support an Atom or Triple, indicating they believe it's true, valuable, or important.

Counter Signal

Users can stake against claims they disagree with, creating a market for truth discovery.

Dynamic Updates

Signal changes in real-time as users stake, withdraw, or shift their positions, creating a living consensus.

How Signal Works​

  1. Staking Mechanism: Users deposit tokens into Atom or Triple vaults
  2. Weight Calculation: More stake = stronger signal of trust/importance
  3. Relative Comparison: Signal strength is evaluated relative to alternatives
  4. Economic Incentives: Stakers earn fees from future deposits, encouraging early and accurate signaling

Signal Mechanisms​

Users hold positions on Atoms and Triples, signaling their stance by increasing their balance on the relevant entities. Signals contribute to the nuanced expression of trust and belief, allowing for a dynamic and tiered system of preferences within the decentralized ecosystem.

Important Distinction

Creating an Atom or Triple is distinctly different from taking a position on them. While users have the option to both create and take a position on an Atom/Triple at the time of creation, this Initial Deposit is not required. A user who makes no Initial Deposit will only create an Atom or Triple, which does not constitute a Signal.

How the Primitives Work Together​

The true power of Intuition emerges when these three primitives interact:

Many-to-One Attestations​

Unlike traditional systems where a single authority issues certificates or attestations, Intuition enables many-to-one non-deterministic attestations:

- Multiple Validators

Any number of users can signal their belief in an Atom or Triple

- Weighted Consensus

The aggregate Signal determines the community's confidence level

- No Single Point of Failure

Truth emerges from collective validation, not central authority

- Dynamic Evolution

Attestations can change over time as new information emerges

Composition of Knowledge​

Acknowledging the potential for any entity, concept, or piece of data to hold a digital identity opens the door to collaboratively crafting an expansive knowledge graph. By arranging Atoms into Triples, we co-create a graph mapping out entities' interrelations and factual, verifiable assertions about the world.

Example: Building a Reputation Graph​

Consider how these primitives combine to create a decentralized reputation system:

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In this example:

  • Atoms define the entities (Alice, developer, React)
  • Triples express relationships (Alice is a developer, Alice knows React)
  • Signals quantify community confidence (1000 TRUST backs the developer claim)

Key Benefits of This Architecture​

Universal Composability

Any data type can become an Atom, and any relationship can be expressed as a Triple, creating infinite possibilities for knowledge representation.

Self-Regulating Truth

Economic incentives through Signal staking create a market for truth, where accurate information naturally accumulates more support.

Interoperability

Standardized semantic structure enables different applications to understand and build upon the same knowledge graph.

Progressive Trust

Trust isn't binary – it's a spectrum measured by Signal strength, allowing for nuanced representation of confidence and belief.

Getting Started with Primitives​

To begin working with Intuition's primitives, consider these pathways:

For Developers​

  1. Create Atoms for entities in your domain (users, products, concepts)
  2. Define Triples to express relationships between those entities
  3. Monitor Signals to understand community consensus
  4. Build applications that leverage the knowledge graph

For Users​

  1. Discover existing Atoms relevant to your interests
  2. Stake on Triples you believe are true or important
  3. Create new Claims to contribute knowledge
  4. Earn rewards from successful early signaling

For Data Scientists​

  1. Analyze Signal patterns to identify emerging truths
  2. Query the Triple graph for relationship insights
  3. Track Atom evolution over time
  4. Build prediction models based on Signal dynamics

Explore Primitives​

Atoms

Deep dive into Atoms - the fundamental building blocks. Learn about their structure, design principles, and best practices for creating effective Atoms.

Triples

Explore Triples - semantic relationships between Atoms. Understand how to structure complex claims, work with nested triples, and query the knowledge graph.

Signals

Master Signals - the trust layer. Learn about staking mechanisms, signal interpretation, reward distribution, and how to leverage signals for consensus.

Remember

The beauty of Intuition's primitives lies in their simplicity and composability. Three simple concepts – Atoms, Triples, and Signals – combine to create a powerful system for decentralized knowledge and trust.