lengthbeing

Lengthbeing is a term used in speculative contexts to denote a quantity that blends spatial extension with the notion of existence or presence. In this sense, it refers to the characteristic linear footprint attributed to an entity within a model, rather than to ordinary geometric length alone. Lengthbeing is not part of standard physics or mathematics; it appears in philosophy of science discussions and in science fiction as a way to discuss how much space a being occupies or influences.

Formalization and approaches vary. In theories that employ it, lengthbeing may be treated as a scalar representing a characteristic length, a vector indicating principal extensions, or a functional measure derived from the region the entity occupies. A common practical surrogate is the radius of gyration of the occupied region, Lb = sqrt( (1/N) sum |ri − r_cm|^2 ), which provides an order-of-magnitude estimate of its spatial footprint. Other definitions may relate lengthbeing to boundary length, surface area, or effective volume.

Measurement and interpretation: Lengthbeing would be inferred from data about the spatial influence or occupancy of the entity, such as imaging data, segmentation of a region, or abstract information about interaction ranges. In fiction and thought experiments, lengthbeing can be used to discuss growth, shrinkage, or anomalous spatial properties linked to an entity’s presence.

Relation to established concepts: Lengthbeing is distinct from ordinary length, size, or volume, because it explicitly ties spatial extension to a notion of ontological presence within a model. Critics caution that without a standard, well-defined formalism, the term remains metaphorical and prone to misinterpretation.