Trace the compound back to its conditions
Field guide / 04 of 07
Compounds.
Make the field legible.
Compounds are recognisable patterns that arise from elements and relationships. They should be explained through their conditions, not treated as self-evident givens.
Compounds
01Trust
02Identity
03Belief
04Goal
05Motivation
OBSERVE → RELATE → REVISE
The reading frame
What to look for
before you decide.
What is forming in combination?
- 01Trust — reliance under uncertainty
- 02Identity — continuity of a recognised form
- 03Belief — a held orientation
- 04Goal — a selected future state
- 05Motivation — pressure toward action
- 06Power — uneven capacity to affect
- 07Conflict — incompatible orientations
In practice
Three useful
moves.
Ask what sustains it
Identify what could alter its form
Calibration notes
Do not treat a compound as an essence
A label is not an explanation