The lattice

Originality

A 0–100 reading of how new the core claim is against the public record and this ledger. Identical restatements sit near zero. Combinations of known parts occupy the middle. Scarce prior art climbs. The number is an estimate with sources — not a patent office, not a journal.

Originality is scored against independent work only. An author’s own earlier title, preprint version, or journal version of the same manuscript is shown as lineage so the trail can be audited — it does not count as someone else having got there first. Other papers in the same research program are listed as the author’s related work; they inform a literature review and do not set the originality ceiling unless they already state the same core claim.

Epistemic impact

A 0–100 reading of whether the idea, if true and taken up, would improve humanity’s shared knowledge. Market size is ignored. Clarity in a small field can outrank noise in a large one.

Classes

Grade combines both readings (0.58 × originality + 0.42 × impact). Class is assigned from the two axes: Echo and Adjacent for familiar claims; Synthesis for new arrangements; Frontier for scarce prior art; Sightline only when the claim is both rare and potentially knowledge-expanding.

Echo

This claim already lives in the record. You are in company. Others have walked this path — that is a beginning, not a verdict on you.

Adjacent

A known idea, turned a few degrees. The core is familiar; the framing or setting may still be yours to own.

Synthesis

A new arrangement of known pieces. Combinations can change a field even when no single part is unprecedented.

Frontier

Scarce prior art. The claim is rare. The record is thin here. Treat that as a responsibility as much as a gift.

Sightline

Rare, and it could move what we know. Lynceus sees little behind you and something worth protecting ahead.

What is stored

The examination outcome only: your originality estimate, Lynceus scores, class, letter, distilled claims in Lynceus's own words, and citations. The text you paste is held in memory for the pass, then discarded — never written to the ledger. Long papers are first restated as core claims so the search can finish; that restatement is Lynceus's own words, not a copy of the manuscript. Author names and known-work links you choose to give are stored as short identifiers so your own versions are not treated as someone else’s idea. A one-way fingerprint may be kept so an identical later paste can be recognized, without reconstructing the source. No account is required.