Another example of going up/down the ladder/lattice of abstraction, is also given by Paul Graham. In his essay “General and Surprising”, he noted how valuable insights are generally-applicable, usually meaning abstract. However, he noted that it’s often more attainable to say something more specific about already-known-to-be-important-things (as long as that more specific thing is new).
More specifically, being specific seems like it would catch more mistakes/laziness/haziness in reasoning. In contrast, being more general seems better for having new ideas, rather than getting them to specifically match reality well.
Another example of going up/down the ladder/lattice of abstraction, is also given by Paul Graham. In his essay “General and Surprising”, he noted how valuable insights are generally-applicable, usually meaning abstract. However, he noted that it’s often more attainable to say something more specific about already-known-to-be-important-things (as long as that more specific thing is new).
More specifically, being specific seems like it would catch more mistakes/laziness/haziness in reasoning. In contrast, being more general seems better for having new ideas, rather than getting them to specifically match reality well.