The condition where available data is insufficient to determine a unique or fully specified outcome.
Multiple theories, narratives, or explanations may fit the same facts.
NEMAtic view: Not failure but structural condition: - Bow-tie necessarily compresses data - Bottleneck discards information - Right funnel faces underdetermination
The generative gap: Underdetermination is the space of creative possibility—where confabulation generates, pattern-agency operates, new understanding emerges.
Against false precision: Claims of unique determination (ε = 0) are MemeGrid capture.
Principle: “Underdetermination is the condition where data is insufficient for unique outcome—the space where confabulation generates.”
Related: Confabulation, Error Preservation, Narrative Construction
SIML Entry: U001 Underdetermination — Full elemental analysis, nemetic string, daemon correspondence