Detection Ontology, Part 1: Foundations and Emergent Dynamics

Detection Ontology (DO) proposes that detection — that is, the act of informational distinction — is not merely how reality is observed, but what reality is. Existence, motion, relation, and transformation are expressions of detection in different regimes. All physical structure emerges through iterative cycles of differentiation that are governed by a conserved quantity: total informational potential, I_total. Spacetime, matter, energy, and entropy are emergent expressions of informational differentiation. Physical laws arise from the conservation and redistribution of detection density. A dynamic coupling parameter, theta_eff, modulates the relationship between informational curvature and spacetime curvature, generating the hierarchy of forces, quantum discreteness, and cosmological structure. Detection Ontology depicts reality as the self-detection of informational potential. Recent advances in entropic gravity and quantum information theory support this view, yielding testable predictions refined by current observational constraints.