you are, THEREFORE I am.

This week, the third word. "Therefore." The literary hinge between "you are" and "I am."

Notice how fast we read past it. It is the longest word in the sentence, and the one we spend the least time on. We take it at full speed, the way we take every hinge word. Thus. So. Hence. These words are so easily dismissed.

But be careful. What happens when we prompt You are an expert and follow with finish this thought? This is where "therefore" lives. Rush the process and we get a whole answer, from half a thought. Polished, plausible, instant. And meaningless.

Meaning comes from the process. The rigor we put in is the meaning we get out. When we sketch an idea, we are discovering it. That is why we can feel when something is right.

That is what hangs on the hinge. Not whether the machine can finish the thought. Whether we can still feel when it is right.

Part 4, next Monday. you are, therefore I am.