I'm reading these online notes on representation theory, and I don't fully understand this:
Isn't $V\oplus(\bigoplus_{i\in I}S_i)$ a direct sum by definition, so we'd get $I=\{1,\cdots,n\}$? Can we assume the $S_i$ are pairwise disjoint submodules of $U$ based on how the lemma is phrased (or does that follow necessarily from them each being simple)? Intuitively, I feel the condition should be that $W$ as an external direct sum maps into the internal direct sum situated within $U$ in an obvious way, and we choose $I$ maximal so that this map has no kernel. Is this understanding correct?