© 2008, 2009 KnowledgeToTheMax
Abstraction
The word
“model” in the phrase “scientific model” reflects the role of abstraction in
the construction of this type of model. An “abstraction” is a description of a
set of real objects that is removed from the differences among the descriptions
of this objects when they are described in detail. For example, the word
“chair” is an abstraction that is removed from the blemishes and design details
that describe real chairs, when these chairs are described in detail.
An
abstraction places several more detailed descriptions in a disjunction, that is
in a logical OR statement. For instance, it places the more detailed
description male and the more
detailed description female in the
disjunction male OR female.
A less
abstract description may be formed by placing several description in a
conjunction, that is in a logical AND statement. For example, the less abstract
description brown AND chair is formed by placing the
description brown and the description
chair in a conjunction.
As a state is a description, a state may
be an abstraction from several other states. When not an abstraction, a state
is called a way.