Dwell — how long the switch stays on (∝ γ^1.5 × dosage)

Master-gene γ is invariant across ~10^5× mass (CV 0.5%), so size is not in the material — it is dwell × dosage at runtime. Direction admissible, absolute open.

DWELL is how long a switch stays on; it sets a trait's degree — size, timing. Master-gene γ is nearly invariant across species of vastly different size (mammal masters CV 0.5%), so size is not written in the readable material: it is dwell × dosage, set at runtime. Only the direction is admissible (γ↑ → longer → larger); absolute size is open.

What DWELL is

DWELL is the time a switch stays on, once it is on (STATE) within a genome that carries it (SET). It sets the continuous degree of a trait: how large, how long, how late. In R19 terms the dwell time scales as ∝ γ^1.5 (deeper wells hold the state longer), but the realized dwell is γ^1.5 × dosage, where dosage and timing are set at runtime (Layer-2). DWELL is read only in direction, not absolute value.

Size is not in the material

• mammal master genes (human·mouse·elephant, ~10^5× mass range): cross-species γ CV 0.5%.
• cat vs tiger (~100× mass): cross-species γ CV 0.1%.
• within one animal, gene-to-gene γ spread (cat 0.292) exceeds the cross-species gap.

A mouse and an elephant read essentially the same γ at their shared master switches despite a ~10^5× mass difference. So the size difference is not in the readable material — it is how long those switches run (dwell) and how much input they get (dosage), both at runtime.

Degree and timing = dwell

With the inventory and the on/off shared, what sets a trait's degree is DWELL: growth-plate switches run longer / with more dosage → larger (direction only); developmental switches held on longer and later → extended development (neoteny, in monkey/human); and fire-salamander populations differ in how long the embryo develops inside the mother — some born as aquatic larvae, others as fully-formed terrestrial juveniles — same SET, more dwell → born more developed. The environmental driving of that timing is the next chapter, ENVIRONMENT.

Judgment rule & bounds

Direction is admissible: γ↑ → deeper well → longer dwell → larger/longer trait. Absolute value is open: absolute size, rate, and timing are dwell × dosage at runtime, not readable from the sequence. Cross-family size baselines are disallowed — see the failure log.

Failure log

• Cross-family size correlation reverses: an earlier cross-family read gave r = +0.70 that reversed to r = −0.47 within primates; size is direction-only and open.
• Dosage/timing are runtime: γ gives the dwell scale, not the realized amount.
• Salamander not measured here: a phenotype-level case (principle-demonstration), not a γ measured in this session.