What does it mean that types of relationships?

Relationships can be causal, temporal, sequential, hierarchical, associative, and more. Naming the type of a relationship determines what reasoning you can perform across it.

Example: You notice that your morning run improves your focus at work. But what type of relationship is this? If it is causal (running produces neurochemicals that enhance attention), then skipping the run will reduce your focus. If it is merely associative (both happen on days when you slept well), then forcing a run on a bad-sleep day will not help. If it is temporal (running works only when done before 8 AM), the timing matters more than the activity. The same two nodes — running and focus — connected by different relationship types produce entirely different predictions and decisions.

Try this: Choose a belief you hold about how two things in your life are connected — for example, 'reading before bed helps me sleep' or 'team standups improve collaboration.' Write down the connection, then classify it: is it causal, associative, temporal, hierarchical, compositional, or something else? Now ask: what evidence would distinguish between the type you chose and an alternative type? If you labeled it causal but cannot describe a mechanism, you may be looking at an association dressed up as causation.