In the literal sense, only at times, after a big meal. Ha. Ha. Ha.
But in the figurative sense, all the time. Because much of what I do here is abstract away from realities which I absorb from various modalities, via empirical data, anecdotal data, direct experience, visceral experience, constant communication, belief, and etc.
I do indeed take in a lot of information, and take care to vet that information and the sources of that information so that I am receiving as clear a picture of what is happening as possible. But I'm much more interested in the generalized abstractions that can be gleaned from those things, so as to inform future organizations of said information and of course, actions based on it, due to my own nature, among other things.
It is something we tend to do anyway, so why not be aware of it, and do it as well as possible? This is a loop that tends to close over time, so it is important to continuously break it apart, interrogate it, confront competing loops, converse, doubt to the point of existential crisis, and etc, at least as much as one can as a human being.
We have observed before that as soon as one abstracts, one loses all manner of resolution, and one shifts one's attention on to limited items one is addressing. One can't get abstraction from pre-cognitive reality; it is an artifact of cognition after all, so one must construct it, and hopefully construct it well.
Here repetition is a useful thing. Once one has constructed abstraction, one can compare and contrast it to others, judge it, and then break it down again and produce more fresh, over and over again, until what persists is what is stable enough to continue on with, in accordance with what one is.
Mounting and growing abstraction, and increasing complexity in a given, limited direction is a sure sign of danger, as abstraction requires attention and energy to keep it fixed in the perception, attention and energy that is passing away from everything else. What's more is it requires more work from others to be communicable, which lowers its accessibility and universality.
It is my hope to proceed not only towards quality and stability of abstraction, but simplicity as well, so that what continues to stand is useful, clarifying, and actionable, and which does not obscure from other realities, and which gives the reader freedom to do with it what the reader will, with a decent and immediate understanding of it, with a "going back to the text" as a voluntary act.
As far as I am concerned, the work is never done. This is a lifelong and painstaking process, as it should be. Illumination and instruction through concepts is no small thing, and corrupts and degrades the mind, and produces atrocity, at its worst.
In the meantime, if all else fails, just assume I'm full of shit.
