The Five Grammars
Seven domains, but only five ways of drawing. The domains are where knowledge is stored; the grammars are how it connects — and noticing that a causal loop, an ERD, an attack tree and an org chart are all the same object is what turns a pile of notes into a lattice.
An entity-relationship diagram, an attack tree, an org chart, and a software dependency graph. Four different domains, four different professions, four different meetings. What is the relationship between them?
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The pile that never becomes a lattice
Facts filed by domain stay in the domain they were learned in. Filed by grammar, they transfer — which is the difference between a shelf of notes and something you can actually reach for under pressure.
The first move
When something will not come into focus, stop asking what field it belongs to and ask which grammar it wants. Accumulating? Draw the bathtub. Varying? Draw the distribution. It is a much better first question.
Why experts see faster
Experts do not know more isolated facts; they recognise the shape sooner. Naming grammars deliberately is a shortcut to the recognition that usually takes years of incidental exposure.
Two sentences, every time
For each new idea, write which grammar it belongs to and one concept from a different domain that shares it. It costs nothing and it is the whole weaving — the thing that makes this a lattice instead of a list.
Every time you learn something new, write one line: which grammar it belongs to, and one concept from a different domain that shares it. Two sentences. It is the cheapest transfer-building habit available, and it is the difference between knowing a lot of separate things and being able to reach for the right shape when something unfamiliar lands on your desk. When you cannot get a problem into focus, stop asking what field it belongs to and ask which grammar it wants.