An abstraction represents the key characteristics of something without its concrete realities. The level of an abstraction is how far away from the concrete realities the representation is, with the highest level being farthest away.

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"Level" is the important word here. Most people can grasp and create abstractions, but few have the ability to consciously choose the optimum level for each abstraction. They float along with the masses, thinking like the masses, producing work results like the masses. There is a better way.

For example, suppose you're analyzing a problem, such as suddenly spotting a broken glass of milk on the floor. Slipping into problem solving mode, one level of abstraction would be to surmise which of your children did it and how it probably happened. Then you go chat with them, don't make to big a deal about it, and it doesn't happen again for a few months.

But another level of abstraction would be to question why it was glass and not plastic. This gets more to the root cause of the problem. Realizing that your children are not yet ready for drinking from glass, you might switch to plastic until they are older. By thinking at the correct level of abstraction you have more correctly defined and solved the problem.

In the first case the abstraction is, "Child broke glass". In the second case it's, "Glass broke". Each leads down a different problem solving path. What a difference.

Always think at the appropriate level of abstraction.