metadaton

Metadaton is a term used in speculative fiction and in some philosophical discussions to denote a hypothetical carrier of meta-information—information about information that governs higher-level structure in a system. The name fuses the prefix meta- with the -daton suffix, a convention in science fiction and thought experiments for particle-like or state-like entities that embody abstract properties.

In fictional settings, metadaton is often described as a neutral, elementary thing that interacts weakly with normal matter and encodes rules, principles, or organizational templates. It may mediate transitions between different states of computation, cognition, or reality, allowing a system to shift its level of description without altering observable content at the lower level.

In philosophical usage, metadaton serves as a metaphor for the meta-level scaffolding of theories—how methodology, assumptions, or measurement conventions shape what counts as data. It is not asserted to be a real particle or field in current physics, but a device for thinking about information architecture across levels.

Because metadaton is not an established term with empirical support, descriptions vary by author. Some portray it as timeless and ubiquitous; others as context-dependent. The concept is used mainly to illustrate ideas about hierarchy, abstraction, and the propagation of meta-information through a system.

See also: information theory, meta-, abstraction, thought experiment, emergent properties.