Definitions

Question

IsA single-word search direction that constrains what you are looking for

Is notA sentence or a request for information

e.g.Why? — constrains search to causes and motivations

Route

IsA connection between two questions where one leads to the other

Is notA path or sequence — a route is a single edge, not a trail

e.g.Want? → What? — wanting raises what is wanted

Sequence

IsAn ordered trail of questions where each step connects to the next via routes

Is notA chain — sequences are linear trails, not compositions into compound questions

e.g.Want? → What? → Should? → Can? → How? (Desire to Action)

Chain

IsA set of questions that compose into a single compound question

Is notA sequence — chains produce a new question, sequences are paths to walk

e.g.Why? + Want? + Go? + Where? + How? = "Why and how do you want to go there?"

Regress

IsA predicted answer to a question and the follow-up questions that answer spawns

Is notA conclusion or an insight — regress is structural, not evaluative

e.g."Why?" → predicted answer "Because X" → follow-up "Why X?"

Prediction

IsA guessed answer to a question that has a truth status based on how many questioning perspectives it has survived

Is notA fact or a conclusion — every prediction is always a guess at some level

e.g."Because I need to" — truth status: guess (untested)

Truth Status

IsHow many independent questioning perspectives a prediction has survived

Is notConfidence or probability — it is not subjective, it counts perspectives applied

e.g.guess → questioned guess → multi-questioned guess → held guess

Blaze

IsChoosing your own next question from all available routes — creating your own path

Is notFollowing an existing trail — blazing is exploration, not tracing

e.g.At Why? you see 3 routes and pick How? — you blazed from Why to How

Trace

IsFollowing an existing sequence that someone has already mapped

Is notBlazing — tracing follows a known trail, it does not create one

e.g.Following the Desire to Action sequence: Want → What → Should → Can → How

Fork

IsA question that leads to the current question — where you could have come from

Is notA route forward — forks show origins, not destinations

e.g.At How? the forks are Why? and What? — both lead here

Completeness

IsWhether a sequence has all its edges connected and how much of the reachable graph it covers

Is notA quality judgment — incomplete sequences are not bad, they are structurally broken

e.g.incomplete (broken edges) → minimal (direct) → complete → maximal (exhaustive)

Quest

IsA user's position and history on a sequence — where they are and where they have been

Is notA game or achievement — a quest tracks navigation state

e.g.User is on step 3 of Desire to Action, visited Want and What, now at Should

Truth

IsWhat exists — a prediction that has survived questioning from multiple independent perspectives

Is notA feeling, opinion, or consensus — truth is structural, not social

e.g.A held guess has been questioned, the questioning has been questioned, and it still holds

Anti-question

IsThe complement of a question's search direction — everything it does not point to

Is notThe opposite question — it is the set of questions unreachable from the current one

e.g.If Why? routes to How? and What?, its anti-questions are everything else

Explore

IsGenerating new questions that expand the search space — routes that open possibilities

Is notTesting — explore creates, test checks

e.g.Expansion, analogy, composition, and clarification routes are explore routes

Test

IsApplying questioning to existing claims — routes that check and constrain

Is notExploring — test narrows, explore widens

e.g.Opposition, prerequisite, causal, and implication routes are test routes

Universalize

IsAbstracting a specific question to a higher level that generalizes it

Is notA synonym or rephrasing — universalizing moves up in abstraction, not sideways

e.g.Where should I eat? universalizes to Where? which universalizes to spatial orientation

Perspective

IsA question or sense applied as a testing mechanism — each perspective is an independent check

Is notA viewpoint or opinion — perspectives are structural tests, not subjective positions

e.g.Testing a prediction with Why? is one perspective, testing it with How? is another