  The experimental and theoretical challenges posed by the study of dynamically
inhomogeneous systems are outlined in the context of cuprates and other oxides.
Considering the pitfalls in the single-component approach to the analysis of
inhomogeneous systems, the effect of either temporal or spatial averaging by
different experiments is discussed. A group-theoretical symmetry analysis of
the observed inhomogeneities in real space and k-space observed in the cuprates
is shown to lead to a quantitatively verifiable description of the
inhomogeneous state, comprising of bound singlet pairs in the ground state and
unbound fermions in the excited state. The predicted symmetry breaking
associated with pairing is shown to be verifiable experimentally.
