Recursive Datum Expansion and the Structural Interpretation of Time

This record contains two documents: 1. Recursive Datum Expansion and the Structural Interpretation of Time 2. Why Recursive Datum Expansion Matters The primary paper, Recursive Datum Expansion and the Structural Interpretation of Time, formalises a structural account of time, cognition, and knowledge within the Paton System. Time is interpreted not as an independent dimension but as the observable projection of recursive admissible state formation originating from a single datum. Subsequent datums are re-instantiations of the same admissibility logic under accumulated constraint. Cognitive systems act as recursive accumulators, compressing structural history into stable knowledge. This work introduces no new physical laws and serves as a pre-theoretical clarification. The companion paper, Why Recursive Datum Expansion Matters, explains the significance of the primary paper and clarifies why recursive datum expansion provides a useful structural interpretation for time, cognition, memory, and system continuity. It functions as an explanatory extension rather than a separate theoretical replacement. Together, the two documents present a main structural statement and a companion explanatory layer. The record is intended as a unified Zenodo upload containing both the formal paper and its companion interpretation.