Introduction

Life is complex. There are so many parts that make up a life, no matter how much you specialize in one particular field. And there is so much more going on behind the scenes that we are not even aware of. But how can we still get to a point where life feels manageable and we don't feel too overwhelmed? Luckily, we as humans can abstract. This post explains what abstraction is and how we can apply it to the wide horizons of our life to understand more with less. It also explains the dangers of abstraction and how we can prevent this useful tool from enslaving our minds.

This post covers...

1. 🌲 What is abstraction
2. 🧠 Why we need it
3. ⚔️ Abstraction criticism
4. 🥷 How to wield abstraction
5. 🥕 Examples & Exercises
6. 🌍 Conclusion

Understanding abstraction

Abstraction is the process of taking something real in its full complexity and abstracting from that potentially limitless and potentially incomprehensible complexity a simplified idea of what this thing is or how it behaves. Important to note is that something real gets turned into an idea. It is no longer the real thing as it leaves out a large portion of what actually makes up that real, complex thing. A critic would therefore call these abstractions illusions. A more neutral term would be simplification.

Why we need it

A good example of abstraction is language. Words get assigned to specific objects. But for practical reasons, these links are either super vague or even random and their meaning isn't too specified. The word "tree" is an abstraction of the real thing. It clearly does not even come close to including the true complexity of the existence of a tree and it neither accounts for all the various types of trees nor the structural differences of each individual tree that exists.

But even language itself is an abstraction. Letters are abstractions of complex sounds we make with our complex bodies with complex muscular movements initiated by our incredibly complex minds. At this point it should become clear: almost anything we as humans believe to understand are merely abstractions, simplified ideas of the underlying real things.

And even scientific knowledge is mostly a collection of models we derived from observations. Some may be less abstracted than others, but ultimately, none of it covers the true limitless complexity of these things or processes.

The key word here is practicality. In order to practically be able to cope with life's complexity, we simplify, categorize and generalize. It's a necessity as we simply don't have the time nor the energy to understand everything in its full complexity. Everyone does it, most unconsciously.

“A map is not the territory it represents, but, if correct, it has a similar structure to the territory, which accounts for its usefulness.”
Alfred Korzybski

Abstraction criticism

Abstraction despite its practical necessity also has its critics. The main argument is that abstractions are falsifications of their real underlying things. In other words, they lead us to believe and perceive things as something they are not or that they are not only.

Whilst you could argue that some abstractions more so amplify complex things instead of falsify them by putting emphasis on their most central characteristics, I think the most important note to take away from this nonetheless valid stance against abstraction is the fact that most people abstract without even realizing it.

This is a problem because the falsification is treated like a synonym of the real thing. And so vast simplifications leaving out a lot of potentially important information are used as the basis for making decisions with significant consequences which become especially clear in the context of social discrimination, racism, political polarization and radicalization.

Without even having stepped a foot into a certain country, having exchanged a single word with a person with a different background or having even experienced a single minute in the skin of another person, we dare to manifest and share radical opinions about countries, people, topics etc.

“The propensity to excessive simplification is indeed natural to the mind of man, since it is only by abstraction and generalisation, which necessarily imply the neglect of a multitude of particulars, that he can stretch his puny faculties so as to embrace a minute portion of the illimitable vastness of the universe. But if the propensity is natural and even inevitable, it is nevertheless fraught with peril, since it is apt to narrow and falsify our conception of any subject under investigation. To correct it partially - for to correct it wholly would require an infinite intelligence - we must endeavour to broaden our views by taking account of a wide range of facts and possibilities; and when we have done so to the utmost of our power, we must still remember that from the very nature of things our ideas fall immeasurably short of the reality.”
James George Frazer

How to wield abstraction

So wait, we need to abstract because we simply don't have the intelligence nor the time to understand everything in their full complexity but at the same time abstraction is causing a lot of damage by oversimplifying things? Why try to master abstraction then? Mastering abstraction is all about understanding it as a tool and learning to wield this tool to one's advantage.

The first step to doing so is understanding that abstractions are merely ideas and fall immensely short of the complexity of their real underlying things. This understanding functions like the break in a car. It reminds you that whatever you think you know is just a grain of sand of an endlessly long beach forcing you to either take more variables into account or accept the fact that your decisions are based on simplifications and thus will always be guesses to some extent. This is totally fine - as long as you are aware of it!

The second step towards wielding abstraction is learning to abstract in a useful way. It's about acknowledging and accepting the lack of accuracy of abstractions, but understanding that they might still be useful to grasp the bigger picture of something complex. Just because abstractions are inaccurate does not mean they aren't useful.

With these things covered, you gain a tool that allows you to get a bird's eye perspective on even a complex mess of structures and information such as the whole of life itself. Instead of trying to understand every last detail of every aspect of your life (sleep, nutrition, exercise, your job, relationships, politics, ...), you simply create useful abstractions of these things giving you some fundamental understanding of all of these things. Knowing that you don't know everything about all of these things, but knowing you know the fundamental basics about all of these things, you can go to bed knowing you aren't completely lost in this vast universe.

Examples & Exercise

Abstraction itself is an abstract term for many. It's hard to grasp, so let me give you some examples and practical exercises to help you better understand and eventually master it.

• 🗄️ Categorizations are abstractions. Tiger, giraffe, dog - all of those are abstractions with the goal of making it easier to differentiate different animals. Epochs defined by historians are equally categorizations and therefore abstractions of complexly connected and intertwined historical events.
• 🏗️ Frameworks and mental models are abstractions. James Clear's onion framework for building habits is a good example. Building a habit is a complex process. In his framework though, he splits it up into (1) a defined goal, (2) a method to get to this goal and (3) an identity capable of going through with it all. This is clearly a simplification, but it's a useful one to help understand the process and requirements.
• 🎨 Metaphors and other forms of visualization are abstractions. Both physical and verbal paintings as well as mathematical graphs are abstractions to help us see something that otherwise would be much harder to see clearly in the mess of its natural existence. The same goes for stories.  
• ✅ Regarding exercises, simply try to put things, circumstances and realtions you observe in your every day life into useful abstractions. A lot of things such as ideas can be split up into different components. Processes can always be abstracted into different steps. Texts can be abstracted into subsections. Relationships can be abstracted into connected parties. Map those things out on a sheet of paper and learn to see the bigger picture in the multitude of information presented to you.

Conclusion

Abstraction is the process of deriving from a complex real thing a simplified more easily understandable idea. This abstraction is no longer the real thing, which many forget when they make decisions based on abstractions. Therefore it is important to remain aware of the simplifications we deal with when making decisions and going about life in general. By intentionally creating useful abstractions though, we enable ourselves to grasp even incredibly large and complex things such as life itself.