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Abstraction

TagLast edit: Feb 8, 2025, 12:32 AM by lesswrong-internal

An abstraction is a high-level concept that groups things together while not considering some of their differences.

(This is a stub, please rewrite if you have a better tag description).

Ab­strac­tion = In­for­ma­tion at a Distance

johnswentworthMar 19, 2020, 12:19 AM
28 points
1 comment3 min readLW link

What is Ab­strac­tion?

johnswentworthDec 6, 2019, 8:30 PM
36 points
8 comments5 min readLW link

Un­der­con­strained Abstractions

Eliezer YudkowskyDec 4, 2008, 1:58 PM
11 points
27 comments5 min readLW link

Whence Your Ab­strac­tions?

Eliezer YudkowskyNov 20, 2008, 1:07 AM
12 points
6 comments3 min readLW link

[Question] What is ab­strac­tion?

Adam ZernerDec 15, 2018, 8:36 AM
25 points
11 comments4 min readLW link

Ab­strac­tion, Evolu­tion and Gears

johnswentworthJun 24, 2020, 5:39 PM
29 points
11 comments4 min readLW link

The In­dex­ing Problem

johnswentworthJun 22, 2020, 7:11 PM
36 points
2 comments4 min readLW link

Causal­ity Adds Up to Normality

johnswentworthJun 15, 2020, 5:19 PM
13 points
2 comments5 min readLW link

Carte­sian Boundary as Ab­strac­tion Boundary

johnswentworthJun 11, 2020, 5:38 PM
35 points
3 comments5 min readLW link

Align­ment By Default

johnswentworthAug 12, 2020, 6:54 PM
174 points
96 comments11 min readLW link2 reviews

In­tu­itions on Univer­sal Be­hav­ior of In­for­ma­tion at a Distance

johnswentworthApr 20, 2020, 9:44 PM
21 points
3 comments9 min readLW link

Writ­ing Causal Models Like We Write Programs

johnswentworthMay 5, 2020, 6:05 PM
90 points
10 comments4 min readLW link

Point­ing to a Flower

johnswentworthMay 18, 2020, 6:54 PM
61 points
18 comments9 min readLW link

Public Static: What is Ab­strac­tion?

johnswentworthJun 9, 2020, 6:36 PM
97 points
18 comments11 min readLW link

[Question] Prob­lems In­volv­ing Ab­strac­tion?

johnswentworthOct 20, 2020, 4:49 PM
30 points
12 comments1 min readLW link

In­te­grat­ing Hid­den Vari­ables Im­proves Approximation

johnswentworthApr 16, 2020, 9:43 PM
15 points
5 comments1 min readLW link

Mo­ti­vat­ing Ab­strac­tion-First De­ci­sion Theory

johnswentworthApr 29, 2020, 5:47 PM
42 points
16 comments5 min readLW link

Causal Ab­strac­tion Toy Model: Med­i­cal Sensor

johnswentworthDec 11, 2019, 9:12 PM
34 points
6 comments6 min readLW link

Ex­am­ples of Causal Abstraction

johnswentworthDec 12, 2019, 10:54 PM
24 points
7 comments4 min readLW link

Ab­strac­tion, Causal­ity, and Embed­ded Maps: Here Be Monsters

johnswentworthDec 18, 2019, 8:25 PM
26 points
1 comment4 min readLW link

Causal Ab­strac­tion Intro

johnswentworthDec 19, 2019, 10:01 PM
24 points
6 comments1 min readLW link

Defi­ni­tions of Causal Ab­strac­tion: Re­view­ing Beck­ers & Halpern

johnswentworthJan 7, 2020, 12:03 AM
30 points
4 comments4 min readLW link

How to Throw Away In­for­ma­tion in Causal DAGs

johnswentworthJan 8, 2020, 2:40 AM
20 points
2 comments2 min readLW link

Ex­am­ple: Markov Chain

johnswentworthJan 10, 2020, 8:19 PM
15 points
2 comments4 min readLW link

Log­i­cal Rep­re­sen­ta­tion of Causal Models

johnswentworthJan 21, 2020, 8:04 PM
37 points
0 comments3 min readLW link

(A → B) → A in Causal DAGs

johnswentworthJan 22, 2020, 6:22 PM
48 points
11 comments2 min readLW link

For­mu­lat­ing Re­duc­tive Agency in Causal Models

johnswentworthJan 23, 2020, 5:03 PM
33 points
0 comments2 min readLW link

Trace: Goals and Principles

johnswentworthFeb 28, 2020, 11:50 PM
13 points
3 comments8 min readLW link

Trace README

johnswentworthMar 11, 2020, 9:08 PM
37 points
1 comment8 min readLW link

Me­di­a­tion From a Distance

johnswentworthMar 20, 2020, 10:02 PM
16 points
0 comments2 min readLW link

Noise Simplifies

johnswentworthApr 15, 2020, 7:48 PM
28 points
3 comments2 min readLW link

The Flex­i­bil­ity of Ab­stract Concepts

lsusrMar 2, 2021, 6:43 AM
48 points
8 comments5 min readLW link

Finite Fac­tored Sets

Scott GarrabrantMay 23, 2021, 8:52 PM
148 points
95 comments24 min readLW link1 review

Re­marks 1–18 on GPT (com­pressed)

Cleo NardoMar 20, 2023, 10:27 PM
145 points
35 comments31 min readLW link

On the Role of Proto-Languages

adamShimiSep 22, 2024, 4:50 PM
54 points
1 comment4 min readLW link
(epistemologicalfascinations.substack.com)

Towards the Oper­a­tional­iza­tion of Philos­o­phy & Wisdom

Thane RuthenisOct 28, 2024, 7:45 PM
20 points
2 comments33 min readLW link
(aiimpacts.org)

Re­duc­ing Agents: When ab­strac­tions break

HazardMar 31, 2018, 12:03 AM
13 points
10 comments8 min readLW link

Neu­ral net­works as non-leaky math­e­mat­i­cal abstraction

George3d6Dec 19, 2019, 12:23 PM
14 points
12 comments8 min readLW link
(blog.cerebralab.com)

Ab­strac­tion is Big­ger than Nat­u­ral Abstraction

Nicholas / Heather KrossMay 31, 2023, 12:00 AM
18 points
0 comments5 min readLW link
(www.thinkingmuchbetter.com)

See­ing the Ma­trix, Switch­ing Ab­strac­tions, and Miss­ing Moods

RaemonJun 4, 2019, 9:08 PM
36 points
3 comments4 min readLW link

how 2 tell if ur in­put is out of dis­tri­bu­tion given only model weights

dkirmaniAug 5, 2023, 10:45 PM
48 points
10 comments1 min readLW link

Func­tors and Coarse Worlds

Scott GarrabrantOct 30, 2020, 3:19 PM
52 points
3 comments8 min readLW link

Chaos In­duces Abstractions

johnswentworthMar 18, 2021, 8:08 PM
100 points
13 comments7 min readLW link

Sav­ing Time

Scott GarrabrantMay 18, 2021, 8:11 PM
160 points
20 comments4 min readLW link1 review

Finite Fac­tored Sets: In­tro­duc­tion and Factorizations

Scott GarrabrantJun 4, 2021, 5:41 PM
36 points
2 comments10 min readLW link

AXRP Epi­sode 9 - Finite Fac­tored Sets with Scott Garrabrant

DanielFilanJun 24, 2021, 10:10 PM
59 points
2 comments59 min readLW link

Finite Fac­tored Sets: Con­di­tional Orthogonality

Scott GarrabrantJul 9, 2021, 6:01 AM
29 points
2 comments7 min readLW link

Test­ing The Nat­u­ral Ab­strac­tion Hy­poth­e­sis: Pro­ject Update

johnswentworthSep 20, 2021, 3:44 AM
88 points
17 comments8 min readLW link1 review

What Does The Nat­u­ral Ab­strac­tion Frame­work Say About ELK?

johnswentworthFeb 15, 2022, 2:27 AM
35 points
0 comments6 min readLW link

When to use “meta” vs “self-refer­ence”, “re­cur­sive”, etc.

Alex_AltairApr 6, 2022, 4:57 AM
21 points
5 comments5 min readLW link

AXRP Epi­sode 15 - Nat­u­ral Ab­strac­tions with John Wentworth

DanielFilanMay 23, 2022, 5:40 AM
34 points
1 comment58 min readLW link

Distributed Decisions

johnswentworthMay 29, 2022, 2:43 AM
66 points
6 comments6 min readLW link

As­sorted thoughts about ab­strac­tion

Adam ZernerJul 5, 2022, 6:40 AM
16 points
9 comments7 min readLW link

What Makes an Idea Un­der­stand­able? On Ar­chi­tec­turally and Cul­turally Nat­u­ral Ideas.

NickyP, Peter S. Park and Stephen Fowler
Aug 16, 2022, 2:09 AM
21 points
2 comments16 min readLW link

Sapir-Whorf for Rationalists

Duncan Sabien (Deactivated)Jan 25, 2023, 7:58 AM
154 points
49 comments19 min readLW link

Nat­u­ral La­tents: The Math

johnswentworth and David Lorell
Dec 27, 2023, 7:03 PM
123 points
40 comments12 min readLW link2 reviews

State, Art, Identity

musqJan 25, 2021, 8:22 PM
1 point
0 comments2 min readLW link

Please Understand

samhealyApr 1, 2024, 12:33 PM
28 points
11 comments6 min readLW link

The Prag­mas­cope Idea

johnswentworthAug 4, 2022, 9:52 PM
59 points
20 comments3 min readLW link

Embed­ded Agency via Abstraction

johnswentworthAug 26, 2019, 11:03 PM
42 points
20 comments11 min readLW link

[Question] What is an agent in re­duc­tion­ist ma­te­ri­al­ism?

ValentineAug 13, 2022, 3:39 PM
7 points
17 comments1 min readLW link

Ab­strac­tions and translation

Amir BolousMay 20, 2021, 2:45 AM
5 points
1 comment2 min readLW link

Re­search agenda: For­mal­iz­ing ab­strac­tions of computations

Erik JennerFeb 2, 2023, 4:29 AM
93 points
10 comments31 min readLW link

Good on­tolo­gies in­duce com­mu­ta­tive diagrams

Erik JennerOct 9, 2022, 12:06 AM
49 points
5 comments14 min readLW link

Do we have the right kind of math for roles, goals and mean­ing?

mrcbarbierOct 22, 2022, 9:28 PM
13 points
5 comments7 min readLW link

Trade­offs in com­plex­ity, ab­strac­tion, and generality

remember and Gabriel Alfour
Dec 12, 2022, 3:55 PM
32 points
0 comments2 min readLW link

The Nat­u­ral Ab­strac­tion Hy­poth­e­sis: Im­pli­ca­tions and Evidence

CallumMcDougallDec 14, 2021, 11:14 PM
39 points
9 comments19 min readLW link

No Ab­strac­tion Without a Goal

dkirmaniJan 10, 2022, 8:24 PM
28 points
27 comments1 min readLW link

Ab­stract con­cepts and met­al­in­gual defi­ni­tion: Does ChatGPT un­der­stand jus­tice and char­ity?

Bill BenzonDec 16, 2022, 9:01 PM
2 points
0 comments13 min readLW link

To Be Par­tic­u­lar About Morality

AGODec 31, 2022, 7:58 PM
6 points
2 comments7 min readLW link

Agency As a Nat­u­ral Abstraction

Thane RuthenisMay 13, 2022, 6:02 PM
55 points
9 comments13 min readLW link

A Thor­ough In­tro­duc­tion to Abstraction

RohanSJan 13, 2023, 12:30 AM
9 points
1 comment18 min readLW link

Ab­strac­tions as mor­phisms be­tween (co)algebras

Erik JennerJan 14, 2023, 1:51 AM
17 points
1 comment8 min readLW link

A com­par­i­son of causal scrub­bing, causal ab­strac­tions, and re­lated methods

Erik Jenner, Adrià Garriga-alonso and Egor Zverev
Jun 8, 2023, 11:40 PM
73 points
3 comments22 min readLW link

Ra­tional Utopia & Nar­row Way There: Mul­tiver­sal AI Align­ment, Non-Agen­tic Static Place AI, New Ethics… (V. 4)

ankFeb 11, 2025, 3:21 AM
13 points
8 comments35 min readLW link

The Fun­da­men­tal The­o­rem for mea­surable fac­tor spaces

Matthias G. MayerNov 12, 2023, 7:25 PM
38 points
2 comments2 min readLW link

Scarce Chan­nels and Ab­strac­tion Coupling

johnswentworthFeb 28, 2023, 11:26 PM
41 points
11 comments6 min readLW link

Towards Gears-Level Un­der­stand­ing of Agency

Thane RuthenisJun 16, 2022, 10:00 PM
25 points
4 comments18 min readLW link

Ab­strac­tion Talk

johnswentworthMay 25, 2021, 4:45 PM
38 points
3 comments1 min readLW link

Break­ing Down Goal-Directed Behaviour

Oliver SourbutJun 16, 2022, 6:45 PM
11 points
1 comment2 min readLW link

Max­ent and Ab­strac­tions: Cur­rent Best Arguments

johnswentworthMay 18, 2022, 7:54 PM
33 points
2 comments3 min readLW link

Ab­strac­tions as Re­dun­dant Information

johnswentworthFeb 13, 2022, 4:17 AM
69 points
9 comments14 min readLW link

De­liber­a­tion, Re­ac­tions, and Con­trol: Ten­ta­tive Defi­ni­tions and a Res­tate­ment of In­stru­men­tal Convergence

Oliver SourbutJun 27, 2022, 5:25 PM
12 points
0 comments11 min readLW link

Schematic Think­ing: heuris­tic gen­er­al­iza­tion us­ing Korzyb­ski’s method

romeostevensitOct 14, 2019, 7:29 PM
28 points
7 comments3 min readLW link

One way to ma­nipu­late your level of ab­strac­tion re­lated to a task

Andy_McKenzieAug 19, 2013, 5:47 AM
36 points
5 comments1 min readLW link

Analog­i­cal Rea­son­ing and Creativity

jacob_cannellJul 1, 2015, 8:38 PM
39 points
15 comments14 min readLW link

[Question] Why would code/​English or low-ab­strac­tion/​high-ab­strac­tion sim­plic­ity or brevity cor­re­spond?

curiSep 4, 2020, 7:46 PM
2 points
15 comments1 min readLW link

A re­for­mu­la­tion of Finite Fac­tored Sets

Matthias G. MayerJul 24, 2023, 1:02 PM
76 points
1 comment8 min readLW link

Iden­ti­fi­ca­tion of Nat­u­ral Modularity

Stephen FowlerJun 25, 2022, 3:05 PM
15 points
3 comments7 min readLW link

But Where do the Vari­ables of my Causal Model come from?

DalcyAug 9, 2024, 10:07 PM
36 points
1 comment8 min readLW link

Epistemic Mo­tif of Ab­stract-Con­crete Cy­cles & Do­main Expansion

DalcyOct 10, 2023, 3:28 AM
26 points
2 comments3 min readLW link
No comments.