Leitwörter

A Leitwort is a practice-carrying word, not a glossary entry. Every word here is alive only if it passes the Living Word Test.

The Living Word Test reads: When I see ___, I do ___, producing visible evidence ___. If any slot cannot be filled, the word is not yet alive.

The practice dictionary

• Borrowed Clarity

  The feeling of understanding created by someone else's language before the learner has earned it through tracing, practice, application, feedback, and proof.

  When I see

  A phrase that sounds finished, but the speaker cannot use it on a real case.

  I do

  Slow the conversation down. Ask for the example, the artefact, or the practice that backs the phrase.

  Visible evidence

  A learner, founder, or team who can now act on the phrase, instead of repeating it.

  → Open the full Leitwort

• Grammar as Meaning

  Grammar is not just correction; grammar changes what the reader sees and feels.

  When I see

  A grammatical fix that flattens the sentence.

  I do

  Treat the fix as a meaning decision: what does the new sentence now show the reader?

  Visible evidence

  A sentence revision that lets the reader see something the original hid.

  → Open the full Leitwort

• Less Typical

  A practice of moving beyond the first obvious answer into clearer words, better judgment, and more useful action.

  When I see

  A first obvious answer that everyone has already produced.

  I do

  Treat it as evidence of the current pattern, not as final thought. Then indwell, move laterally, and return with a usable handle.

  Visible evidence

  A sentence, prompt, or decision that changes what someone can see, say, decide, build, or do — and that survives a real case.

  → Open the full Leitwort

• Living Word Test

  A word is alive only if it changes noticing, action, and evidence.

  When I see

  A phrase that sounds powerful but produces no behavioural change.

  I do

  Ask: When I see ___, I do ___, producing visible evidence ___. If the slots cannot be filled, the word is not yet alive.

  Visible evidence

  A specific change in the world: a different decision, a different sentence, a different moment of teaching.

  → Open the full Leitwort

• Minister, Not Sovereign

  AI agents can serve judgment but should not replace it.

  When I see

  A workflow where the AI is the final reader.

  I do

  Insert a human review gate before any irreversible action.

  Visible evidence

  A workflow whose outputs are checked against a real reader before they become real-world consequences.

  → Open the full Leitwort

• No Concept Without Artifact

  A public concept should not float without a proof object, example, or practice attached.

  When I see

  An idea that travels only as a phrase, never as an example.

  I do

  Block publication until at least one concrete artefact is attached: a sentence transformation, a case note, a workflow, or a student example.

  Visible evidence

  A reader who can describe how to apply the concept after one pass.

  → Open the full Leitwort

• Public Road / Hidden Mountain

  Less Typical is public and teachable; Below Words is deeper, stranger, and slower. The public site should publish what has become usable.

  When I see

  A post that imports private metaphysical material without earning its public form.

  I do

  Ask: Has this idea survived a real reader, a real student, or a real founder yet? If not, it belongs in private notes first.

  Visible evidence

  A site that publishes usable handles without dumping raw source material.

  → Open the full Leitwort

• Real Seeing Before Public Saying

  Publish after contact with reality, not after private cleverness.

  When I see

  A polished post or prompt that has never met a reader.

  I do

  Send it to one real reader first. Read what survived and what did not.

  Visible evidence

  A revised draft whose changes can be traced to a real reaction, not to a self-flattering rewrite.

  → Open the full Leitwort

• Tail Space

  The search space beyond the first plausible answer.

  When I see

  A polished answer that everyone has already produced.

  I do

  Look for the structurally different alternative — not a louder version of the obvious one.

  Visible evidence

  A candidate that passes the different/correct/useful gates when the obvious answer does not.

  → Open the full Leitwort

• Trace Before Compression

  Preserve the source and the steps before summarising.

  When I see

  A summary that flatters the original by hiding its mess.

  I do

  Show the rejected drafts, the wrong turns, and the moment of decision before the polished version.

  Visible evidence

  A reader who can trace the conclusion back to the example that produced it.

  → Open the full Leitwort

• Verbalized Sampling

  Generate visible language samples before choosing the final formulation.

  When I see

  A writer stuck on the first sentence.

  I do

  Force three to five visibly different drafts on the page. Choose only after seeing them side by side.

  Visible evidence

  A chosen version whose differences from the rejected ones can be named.

  → Open the full Leitwort