The Images

Abstract

We shall now introduce the observables in the theory of patterns. Two distinct configurations c and c′ from C(R) need not appear as different to the observer. Whether they do or not depends upon how the observer obtains his information about the configurations and how he then processes this information. We formalize this through an identification rule R and write c ≡ c′ (mod R) or cRc′ if the c and c′ are identified by the rule that expresses how the observer can distinguish between configurations. The following will be assumed in order that a relation be allowed as an identification rule.