[Fester Chugabrew]

When your retina holds an image of something that happened a few milliseconds ago, is that a record, or a real time observation?

What meets the senses directly (as in your example above) I would consider real time observation. For the purposes of my argument, the record would consist of a written expression of what has been observed directly. Thereafter, the phenomena as realated in the record would be considered "indirect observation." The more time that passes from the moment of direct observation, the less reliable become both the data, and by extension its interpretation.

[Right Wing Professor]

What meets the senses directly (as in your example above) I would consider real time observation

Why do you claim it's direct? It's a pattern of reacted molecules on the surface of an epidermal layer. It hasn't gotten to a neuron yet.

For the purposes of my argument, the record would consist of a written expression of what has been observed directly.

So a genome is not a record, it's direct observation?