Chapter 8: Change
8.15. Looking at containment by hand

The descriptions outlined in the last few sections are intended to deal with almost all of the routine questions we might have about what currently resides where. It should be a last resort to use the following more primitive way to inspect the world.

The value "holder of something" always produces the container, supporter, owner or room in which the something resides.

It's sometimes useful to go the other way. When something has possessions, we can find them out one at a time by running through a list. Thus "first thing held by Baroness Orczy" will be the start of this list: say it's the lapdog. Then "next thing held after the lapdog" will be the second of the Baroness's possessions: a string of pearls, perhaps. And "holder of the string of pearls" will be the Baroness, of course.


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