inventedfigured

Inventedfigured is a neologism used in academic and educational contexts to designate a diagram, figure, or illustration that is artificially created to illuminate a concept rather than to depict an empirically observed object. An inventedfigured diagram is typically designed to highlight particular properties, relationships, or steps in a proof, and may employ stylized shapes, exaggerated scales, or configurations that would not occur in real-world data.

Origins and usage: The term combines invented and figured and is most commonly found in discussions of diagrammatic reasoning, geometry education, and data visualization. Its exact origin is uncertain, but it began appearing in online forums and teaching materials in the early 21st century. It remains a niche term and is not standardized across disciplines.

In practice, authors may annotate figures as inventedfigured to signal that the diagram is schematic rather than empirical. This helps prevent the reader from drawing inferences about real-world objects from the illustration. Examples include a geometric diagram used to prove a theorem with lines extended beyond the construction, or a schematic network diagram arranged for clarity rather than to reflect actual connectivity.

Related concepts include schematic diagrams, diagrammatic reasoning, and fictional or conceptual diagrams. See also geometry, mathematics education, visualization.