How to Think · Sitting 4
Define It Before You Fight
A hidden definition is a trap. Write it. Then argue.
- 28 min
- Talk About It
- 11–14
Parent briefing · 5 minutes, before they sit
Use homework, comments, or a model paragraph. Talk About It. Do not grade their politics — grade whether the word is on the table.
Hard edges
- No culture-war first example.
- Do not require a dictionary citation for ordinary speech.
If they say
- “That's just semantics.”
- Semantics is where the fight actually lives. Skip it and you fight a cartoon.
Objective
The student can pull a contested word out of a paragraph and write the definition they are actually using.
The word under the heat
People fight as if they share a dictionary. They do not. 'Safe,' 'free,' 'cheating,' 'evidence' — each can hide two jobs. Write the definition you are using in one sentence that could be false. Then the other person can agree or not. A model will give you a finished definition that sounds like a textbook. Sounding is not sharing a room. If they would not sign your definition, you are still punching fog.
Big idea
An argument that never defines its words is a performance.
Try this~12 min total
One word, one sentence
12 min- Pick a paragraph (human or model) with heat in it.
- Circle the load-bearing word.
- Write: IN THIS ARGUMENT, X means ____.
- Talk About It: would the author sign that?
- Only then reply.
Lesson guide
Ask after you try
After your definition draft.
- Ask: 'What other meaning could this word have?' Keep your spine.
- Is the definition falsifiable?
- Did they write it before the guide spoke?
8 turns left this sitting. User-started only. Never on page load.
For the computer
Optional. Pair a Hermes guide on your machine. The lesson above does not need this.
Light this sitting
Pair with Hermes
Currently reading WisdomForge lesson: Define It Before You Fight.
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:1:80ed7b18] tag lets you detect if the sitting’s content has changed since you paired it.
Optional: currently working on WisdomForge sitting: How to Think — say-what-you-mean. [v:1:80ed7b18]
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 "Define It Before You Fight". 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 word did a headline or a tool use that we never defined?
Sits beside
- Civics. Rights language.
- Science. Operational definition.
Booklet
Download the How to Think booklet
The full text behind this sitting. Printable PDF, plus Markdown for a Hermes agent. Pick the level that fits.
Integrity. Do not paste a classmate's post into a model to 'define their terms' with their name attached.