Abstraction and context continued

Scott

The Feynman and O-ring illustration quite fit the explanation of the difference between abstraction and contextual analysis. But is it possible to use the 2 approaches in combination?

It is possible if you think of them as falling along a continuum with abstraction being at one end and context being at the other. The further along you go in one direction the weaker the one is over the other. The problem is that we have gone to far in the direction of abstraction.

It might be put this way: Generalize from context. That would mean looking at the context and generalizing from there. Or maybe this way: Check your work with the facts on the ground. That would mean making your assessments with abstract methods but then checking the results against what is actually happening on the ground.

Problem with that though is that you the result can be so out of context that there might be a tendency to look for facts or use what are essentially assumptions to fit it.

With some disciplines, abstract methods are all you have. But with others, there is a lot you can learn by actually going and looking or doing an interview or by watching how people interact with the thing. You can learn a whole lot about things by just doing that.