Taking Apart, Putting Together

Eight words about the two halves of every hard problem: pulling it apart, and building it back whole.

Meet each word one at a time, then take the quiz to lock them in.

1. 1 contraction noun
2. 2 mechanism noun
3. 3 subtract verb
4. 4 integrate verb
5. 5 cohesive adjective
6. 6 intricate adjective
7. 7 coherently adverb
8. 8 incrementally adverb

Nelson's word

noun

Contraction. A noun, and I file it under two related meanings that share one idea: a drawing together. It is a shortening, the way do not becomes don't, two words pulled into one. It is also the act itself, the contraction of a muscle that tightens and draws in. Both meanings live in the same root, tract, which means to pull or to drag, and a contraction is simply a pulling together. When you read that the cold caused a contraction of the metal, picture the metal drawing in on itself, growing shorter. State it precisely: a contraction is what happens when something pulls together.

The contraction of the muscle pulled her arm back toward her shoulder.

Nelson's word

noun

Mechanism. A noun, and one I file with care, because it names a system of parts working together to do a job. The mechanism of a clock is every gear and spring arranged so the hands sweep around; the mechanism of a lock is the pins and the bolt that let a key turn. It need not be metal. A voting mechanism is the whole arrangement of steps by which votes become a result. Whenever parts are organized so they accomplish one thing together, you have a mechanism. File it near system and machinery, and state it plainly: a mechanism is parts, joined for a purpose.

The mechanism inside the clock turned every gear at exactly the right moment.

Vinny's word

verb

Subtract! To take one amount and pull it clean away from another! When the cashiers subtract the coupon from the total, they drag that amount off and the number shrinks before your eyes. That is the verb, and it is mine. Look at the front of it, sub, meaning under or away, joined to tract, meaning to pull. To subtract is to pull away, and once you see the pull inside the word, you will never spell it with a doubt again. Take a number, take it away, and stand back: that is subtraction, and it is heroic in its own quiet way.

The cashiers subtract the coupon from the total before they print the receipt.

Vinny's word

verb

Integrate! To take separate parts and combine them into one unified whole, so completely that you can no longer see the seams! When the engineers integrate the new engine into the old frame, the two stop being two and become a single working machine. That is the verb, and it is mine, and it is the opposite of pulling apart: it joins. A school that integrates a new program folds it in until it belongs. Wherever separate things are woven into one, integrate is the action that does the weaving. Combine, unify, make whole: that is the mission.

The engineers integrate the new engine into the old frame until the two run as one.

Jake's word

adjective

Cohesive. Oh, this is a satisfying one, and it is mine. As an adjective, cohesive describes a thing whose parts stick together as one unified whole: a cohesive team that plays like a single body, a cohesive paragraph whose sentences all pull the same direction. Its Frown is scattered, the thing whose parts fly apart. Could we be more specific than saying an essay felt organized? We could say it felt cohesive, which tells the reader every part holds to every other part. It comes from a root meaning to stick together, and that is exactly the picture: pieces that cling, and hold. Magnifique.

The cohesive team played as one, each member anticipating the next.

Jake's word

adjective

Intricate. An adjective, and mine, describing a thing made of many small parts, all connected, all fitted together in a way that takes a careful eye to follow. An intricate carving, an intricate plot, an intricate machine: each one has more going on than you can see at a glance. Its Frown is simple, the thing with few parts and nothing hidden. Could we be more specific than saying a design was complicated? We could call it intricate, which honors the care in all those tiny connected pieces. It is complex, but complex on purpose, and beautifully so.

The intricate carving showed a hundred tiny leaves woven into one vine.

Benny's word

adverb

Coherently. An adverb, and I coach it the way I coach every adverb: it tells you HOW the action is done. To speak coherently is to speak in a clear, logically connected way, where every idea follows from the one before it and nothing jumps or breaks. Here is the drill: take a muddy sentence, He, uh, the thing, then the other part, and tighten it until each piece links to the next. That is speaking coherently, and you can do it. Its cousin is cohesive, the adjective, but this one describes the doing, the how of it. Make your explanations connect, one to the next, and you are talking coherently. That is worth the practice.

She explained the plan coherently, so every step followed from the last.

Benny's word

adverb

Incrementally. An adverb, and one I love to coach, because it names the smartest way to tackle almost anything: by small, steady stages, one increment at a time. You do not learn a hard piece of music all at once; you build it incrementally, a few measures each day. You do not fix a whole essay in one push; you improve it incrementally, one paragraph, then the next. An increment is a small increase, and to do a thing incrementally is to grow it step by patient step. Here is the coaching: when a task looks too big, ask what one small stage you can finish today. Work incrementally, and the impossible starts to give way.

The climbers gained height incrementally, resting after each short pitch.