There is the thing itself and there is the history and context of the thing, and they are both important. We try to keep them together, but the connection is often fragile.
One example: a product and its price. The price roughly summarizes information about how it was made and how valuable people think it is, which are not attributes of the thing itself and often can’t be deduced from it. In some cases we physically attach a label, the price tag, to keep track. In other cases we attach a lot more info.
Another example: a photo and information about when and where it was taken. For a photo to serve as evidence we need a reliable history. In court, this is the chain of custody. Too often on the Internet, we pretend that having the photo is proof enough, but without knowing its history, it could be a fake.
One example: a product and its price. The price roughly summarizes information about how it was made and how valuable people think it is, which are not attributes of the thing itself and often can’t be deduced from it. In some cases we physically attach a label, the price tag, to keep track. In other cases we attach a lot more info.
Another example: a photo and information about when and where it was taken. For a photo to serve as evidence we need a reliable history. In court, this is the chain of custody. Too often on the Internet, we pretend that having the photo is proof enough, but without knowing its history, it could be a fake.