Meetup : West LA—The Merits of Specificity

How to get in: Go to the Westside Tavern in the upstairs Wine Bar (all ages welcome), located inside the Westside Pavillion on the second floor, right by the movie theaters. The entrance sign says "Lounge".

Parking is free for three hours, or for longer if you know the eight secrets of the coven.

Discussion:

Can you give a specific example of abstract argument being more useful than a specific example? How about an abstract argument that specific examples are more useful than abstract arguments? The ladder of abstraction, from abstract to concrete, superficially seems unrelated to but is quite entangled with the other well-known dichotomy, that between the general and the specific. This mess is our focus. It is obvious that both "sides" have their place, but what modes are best for what purposes?

Recommended Reading:

• Up and Down The Ladder of Abstraction
• Skill of the Week: Be Specific
• The Virtue of Narrowness
• Hug the Query
• Leaky Generalizations
• Gödel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid

No prior knowledge of or exposure to Less Wrong is necessary; this will be generally accessible.