The "pull it out" test. Think of something that went wrong this week. List everything that was true about it. For each one, ask: if this hadn't been true, would it still have gone wrong? The ones where the answer is "yes, still" are true details, but not causes.

Before chapter 4. Beto says Inkling had the good pens. Is that why Lan had no job?

The answer. No. It is true, but it isn't a cause: with the class pens, Lan still wouldn't have had a job. When Fulcra weighs the threads that are left, the one that tips the scale is that the jobs were shared out on Monday, the one day Lan was off sick, and nobody saved her one.

Pause to think. What would have helped on Monday?

The grown-up layer. Telling a true detail from a cause is hard at any age. ThreadForge's Lint and Fulcra practise it; ShadeForge's Rheo turns all-or-nothing feelings into a dial.

For the ride home. Ask: what job do you like best in a group?