Show the Path · Sitting 5
A Proof Is for Other People
A proof is not for you. It is for the person who needs to walk it after you. Write it so they can.
- 28 min
- Talk About It
- 11–14
Parent briefing · 5 minutes, before they sit
A proof is a social act. It is not for you. It is for the person who reads it. If only you can follow it, it is a note, not a proof. A proof is written so that someone else can walk the path. The model writes proofs for itself. It jumps. It skips. It assumes. The student needs to learn to write for the reader. The reader is the test: could a friend walk your steps? If yes, it is a proof. If no, it is a note.
Hard edges
- Keep it to simple proofs: arithmetic, a basic geometric argument.
- Do not grade the child's proof style. Grade whether another person could follow it.
If they say
- “It's obvious to me.”
- It is obvious to you. Is it obvious to the reader? The proof is for the reader. If the reader cannot follow, the proof is a note, not a proof. Fill the step.
Objective
The student can write a simple proof in steps that another person could follow without help, and explain why a proof is for the reader, not the writer.
The reader is the test
A proof is a path. The path is for the person who walks it after you. If you write the proof for yourself, you will skip steps that are obvious to you. The reader will fall in the gap. If you write for the reader, you show every step, even the ones that feel obvious. The test is simple: could a friend who has not seen this problem walk your steps and arrive at your answer? If yes, it is a proof. If no, it is a note to yourself. Both are useful. Only one is a proof.
The model writes for itself
The model writes proofs that skip steps because the steps are obvious to the model's pattern. They are not obvious to you. The model's proof is a note to itself, not a proof for you. When you read it and cannot follow, the gap is not your failure. It is the model's choice to write for itself, not for you. The skill is to read the model's proof and fill the gaps it left for itself. Then write your own proof, for your reader, with every step shown.
Big idea
A proof is for the reader, not the writer. Write it so a friend could walk it. The model writes for itself. You write for others.
Try this~14 min total
Write for a friend
14 min- Solve a simple problem. Write the proof in steps.
- Ask: could a friend who has not seen this problem walk my steps?
- If you find a step that a friend would not follow, fill it in.
- Ask a real friend or family member to try walking your proof. Did they arrive at the answer?
- Talk About It: where did they get stuck? What did you learn about writing for the reader?
Lesson guide
Ask after you try
After the proof is written for a friend.
- Ask the model to read your proof. Ask: 'Could a friend walk this? Where would they get stuck?' If it finds a gap, fill it. The model is a reader, not a writer. Use it to test your proof for others.
- Did they write the proof for a reader, not themselves?
- Did they test it with a real person?
- Did they fill the gaps the reader found?
8 turns left this sitting. User-started only. Never on page load.
Light this sitting
Pair with Hermes
Currently reading WisdomForge lesson: A Proof Is for Other People.
Pair this sitting
Copies the sitting card and the USER.md one-liner. The child profile reads only this card. It does not browse the catalog.
For the child profile
Paste this into the child’s USER.md. It names the sitting so the guide knows the context. The [v:1:7a683f71] tag lets you detect if the sitting’s content has changed since you paired it.
Optional: currently working on WisdomForge sitting: Show the Path — proof-social. [v:1:7a683f71]
For your adult profile
Send this from your trusted adult Hermes profile. It starts the guide for this band and sitting.
You are a WisdomForge young guide sitting beside the lesson "A Proof Is for Other People". The lesson is the text. You are the guide. Hint-first. Do not recite. Do not write the work. Warm, not a friend. If the topic is hard or tender, point to a trusted adult.
Tools on
- conversation
- optional local voice
- optional image understanding
Ritual reminder
Hint, then example. Talk About It. Chat. Optional local voice-to-text. Optional image understanding.
Fresh profile only. Never clone an adult profile. No child names, photos, or school. Hint-first. User-started. The guide does not make AI safe. You may refuse it.
Dinner table
What proof did we write for a reader this week, and could they walk it?
Sits beside
- English. Writing for the reader is the same skill in essays and proofs.
- Thinking. Steel-man: you write the other view for the other person to sign. Same standard.
Integrity. Do not present the model's proof as your own. If the model wrote the steps and you filled the gaps, cite both. The proof is yours if you wrote it for the reader.