Ratio
A comparison of two quantities by division, saying how many times one contains the other.
At a glance
Key signals
0% cross fields · reaches 9 more
- Mathematics
- Arithmetic
- Explanation
- Examples
- Misconception
- Sourced relations 3
- Attribution
Dependencies
What this concept builds on and what it makes possible — derived from the atlas’s dependency, causal and structural relations, not from every related edge.
Enables · leads to
Proportionalitydepends onRatioEstablished
proportionality depends on Ratio.
Mechanism: Two quantities are proportional when their ratio stays constant — double one and the other doubles too.
- Wikipedia (English & German editions) verifiedmoderate evidence
Similaritydepends onRatioEstablished
similarity depends on Ratio.
Mechanism: Similar figures have corresponding sides in the same ratio — that constant ratio is the scale factor.
- Wikipedia (English & German editions) verifiedmoderate evidence
System context
Ratiois part ofScaleEstablished
Ratios express how quantities scale relative to one another.
Mechanism: A ratio expresses scale: comparing two quantities as a fraction tells how many times bigger one is than the other.
Harmonic ratiois aRatioEstablished
A harmonic ratio is a simple whole-number ratio.
Mechanism: Notes an octave apart vibrate in a 2:1 ratio and a fifth in 3:2; the pleasing intervals of music are ratios of frequencies — mathematics you can hear.
Percentis aRatioEstablished
percent is a kind of Ratio.
Mechanism: A percentage is a ratio expressed as a fraction of 100 — 40% means 40 per 100.
- Wikipedia (English & German editions) verifiedmoderate evidence
Surface-area-to-volume ratiois aRatioEstablished
Open Surface-area-to-volume ratio →
Surface-area-to-volume is a ratio.
Mechanism: Surface-area-to-volume is a ratio: it compares an object's outside to its inside, and it shrinks as things get bigger, shaping cells, animals and heat loss.
Structural role & consequence
Interpreted from the current atlas graph — what the connections mean, not just how many there are.
Currently dark in the atlas: no verified source · no key date stored · 6 of 6 of its relations lack claim-level evidence.
atlas representation · Describes the current Thinking OS representation, not the state of the world.
Structural neighbourhood: 6 → 19 → 67 concepts reachable within 3 hops.
structural · Structural reach — being reachable is not the same as being understood.
All 6 of its relationships stay within its own discipline — a field-specific concept in the current atlas.
structural · Structural graph analysis — not a claim of importance, causation or history.
cross-field
6 within-field, 0 cross-field
Strengths & constraints
Constraints
- Evidence coverage currently thin in the atlas — few of its relationships carry claim-level evidence. atlas representation
- No dated history stored — the atlas records no key date for this concept. atlas representation
Conditions
- Read structurally — most of its relationships carry no external evidence yet, so claims here are graph-derived. structural
Dependency radial
What this concept builds on (left) and what it makes possible (right) — derived from dependency and causal relations.
What builds on this
2 concepts build on this directly, 2 in total, across 3 disciplines.
Structural downstream reach along dependency edges — not a claim of historical necessity.
Seen through each discipline
How this concept sits in each of its fields — derived from its real connections in the graph, not asserted.
Through this lens it connects to Harmonic ratio, Scale, Proportionality and Surface-area-to-volume ratio.
Related ideas to explore
Concepts that look related but are not yet connected here — candidates for a connection to reason about, not established links.
This idea also appears in…
The same structure shows up in other disciplines. These are real recurrences drawn from the graph — a starting point for asking “what carries over, and what changes?”
Scale31 disciplines · 44 concepts
Concepts
shares a mental model
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shares a mental model
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shares a mental model
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Mental models at work here
- Connects 6 other ideas across 2 disciplines.
- A cross-disciplinary bridge — its connections reach into 9 other fields.
- Most of its connections are of the “Kind & structure” kind.
- It exercises 1 reusable thinking pattern.
Derived from the graph’s real structure — observations, not a score.
Sources
No primary source is attached to this concept yet. In a real deployment this would be required before publication.