Name what is present
Field guide / 01 of 07
Elements.
Make the field legible.
Elements are the conditions that make a situation legible before an explanation takes hold. They are not merely a list of things.
Elements
01Distinction
02Relation
03Signal / trace
04Attention
05Memory
OBSERVE → RELATE → REVISE
The reading frame
What to look for
before you decide.
What is actually present?
- 01Distinction — what can be told apart
- 02Relation — what is connected
- 03Signal / trace — what leaves evidence
- 04Attention — what is selected or missed
- 05Memory — what persists
- 06Affordance — what becomes possible
- 07Constraint — what limits a move
In practice
Three useful
moves.
Separate observation from interpretation
Locate what is absent but consequential
Calibration notes
A category is not the thing itself
What stands out is not always what matters most