Read andreflect, consider, revisit, returnreflectconsiderrevisitreturn

A distinction earns its value by making something newly visible. It separates what had been collapsed, names a pattern, opens a choice, or improves action.

That makes distinctions powerful tools. It can also make them attractive possessions. We learn the vocabulary, become good at explaining it, and correct other people’s usage. Fluency can eventually replace the seeing the distinction was meant to create.

A carpenter does not confuse a chisel with the finished work. A map is useful because it helps us navigate, not because we can recite its legend. Conceptual precision matters, but the concept is not the destination.

If a distinction changes nothing we can notice, say, or do, mastering its vocabulary may be the least important thing about it.