Layered Reality and Observer-Bounded Coherence: An Information-Theoretic Framework for Structure, Perception, and Conflict

This paper proposes a conceptual framework in which reality is understood as a layered system consisting of an underlying structural domain and an emergent observer-accessible surface. While local observations exhibit coherence, inconsistencies arise across scales and observers, suggesting that accessible representations do not fully capture underlying structure. The framework introduces observer-bounded coherence, formalized as a constraint on the mutual information between structural state and observer representation: I(S ; R(O)) ≤ Cₒ. Drawing on cosmological, quantum, and cognitive domains as structurally analogous — but mechanistically distinct — cases of constraint, the model treats coherence as domain-relative rather than absolute. The paper further defines coherence overlap as a continuous measure governing communication, coordination, and conflict between observers, providing an information-theoretic basis for understanding persistent misalignment across perspectives.