Catalyst vs. Field Predator
Catalyst
"Your agency should increase in my field."
Field Predator
"Your agency should orbit my field."
Diagnostic
After leaving them, do people become more capable without them?
How to tell them apart
Twelve diagnostics for the most-confused pairs.
Each pair shares a surface and diverges at the deeper move. The diagnostic question lives at the time-axis: did the person leave with more agency, or less? Mature use of the instrument is mostly memorizing these.
Developmental Compressor vs. Field Predator
Developmental Compressor
"You will outgrow your need for my pressure."
Field Predator
"Your aliveness depends on staying inside my field."
Diagnostic
After distance and time, does the person carry more of their own fire?
Guardian vs. Ossifier
Guardian
"This protects something alive."
Ossifier
"This must remain because it has remained."
Diagnostic
Can they name the living good being protected, or only the rule?
Builder vs. Administrator
Builder
"Structure should help life become durable."
Administrator
"Structure should keep the system legible and continuous."
Diagnostic
Does the structure serve the life, or has the life become subordinate to the structure?
Trickster-Hacker vs. Sociopath
Trickster-Hacker
"This false boundary is suffocating life."
Sociopath
"This boundary prevents me from extracting value."
Diagnostic
Who gains agency after the hack?
Worldmaker vs. Cult Leader
Worldmaker
"Enter this world, transform, and leave with more of yourself."
Cult Leader
"Enter this world, orbit me, and call captivity belonging."
Diagnostic
Are exit, dissent, and independent reality-testing allowed?
Enzyme vs. Enabler
Enzyme
"Let me make transformation possible."
Enabler
"Let me make discomfort disappear so nothing has to change."
Diagnostic
Does the lowered activation energy lead to movement or avoidance?
Analyst vs. Spectator
Analyst
"Here is what is happening; now action can become wiser."
Spectator
"Here is what is happening; now I can remain safely outside it."
Diagnostic
Does insight become participation, or replace it?
Operator vs. Bureaucrat
Operator
"This matters enough to keep functioning."
Bureaucrat
"Functioning means compliance with the process."
Diagnostic
Can they adapt procedure when purpose demands it?
Composter vs. Nihilist
Composter
"This is dead; let us return its nutrients to the field."
Nihilist
"This is dead; therefore nothing matters."
Diagnostic
Does the ending feed renewal?
Receptive Person vs. Leaker
Receptive Person
"I can be changed by this and still metabolize it."
Leaker
"I am changed by this, and now everyone else must metabolize me."
Diagnostic
Does their openness create contact or cleanup work?
Contained Person vs. Sealed One
Contained Person
"I can feel deeply and remain whole."
Sealed One
"Nothing gets in, so nothing can disturb me."
Diagnostic
Is there actual contact beneath the composure?