# down to earth (level)

*Ordinarily means:* practical and unpretentious despite having reasons not to be

a self-model held at the range others actually occupy, the one elevation that costs no maintenance because there is no distance to hold.

- Computed level: L21 (depth in the emergence graph, not abstraction)
- Status: review  ·  Domain: model and reality

## Emergence
**Emerges from:** [self-model](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-self-model.reflexive), [range](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-range.spatial), [others](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-others.distinct-entities), [level](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-level.spatial), [ground](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-ground.level), [maintenance](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-maintenance.upkeep), [hold](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-hold.physical), [actually](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-actually.real)

**Through:** Elevation must be held against the pull of shared readings, and holding is a running cost; a model kept level with the range others occupy is read without any angle, so its upkeep is the cheapest of any placement.

**Novel properties:**
- zero-maintenance placement
- read without an angle
- level with the occupied range

## Examples
- The senior surgeon who takes histories herself is trusted faster than the one announced by her titles. *(medicine)*
- The band that loads its own gear keeps a model of itself the crew can confirm. *(music)*
- The phrase is only ever used of someone with somewhere higher available, which is what makes the level placement visible at all. *(language)*

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*Canonical: https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-down-to-earth.level*  
*Structured data: https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-down-to-earth.level.json*  
*Every definition provably resolves to space, time, energy and pattern.*