Richer, abler, ahead — so what?

Someone you started with just got promoted over you. A guy your age pulls up in a truck you'll never afford. The new hire bills faster, the next station clears tables quicker, your cousin's small business is suddenly everywhere. Watch what the mind does with it: it takes a fact and quietly turns it into a verdict. They're ahead, so they're better, so I'm less.

Epictetus took that exact move apart. "These Reasonings are unconnected: 'I am richer than you; therefore I am better:' 'I am more eloquent than you; therefore I am better.' The Connexion is rather this: 'I am richer than you; therefore my Property is greater than yours'" (Enchiridion 44, Carter). The first link holds. The second is smuggled in. More money means more money. More speed means more speed. None of it means more worth — yours or theirs.

This is the week's move, named on day one: comparison runs on a hidden leap, and the leap is where the sting lives. The colleague who's ahead is ahead at one measurable thing. That's all the fact will support.

You can notice the comparison without buying the verdict it ships with.