Abstractions

In communicating the complex

"Abstraction is more than a formal method: it is a profoundly human and thoroughly indispensable practice"

-- Derek Gregory

Professor of Geography

University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada

"The famous pipe. How people reproached me for it! And yet, could you stuff my pipe? No, it's just a representation, is it not?"

-- Rene Magritte

Belgian Painter

Abstraction Techniques

Simplified summaries of key details

Approximate truths

Analogies

"If readers understand a simple description of something, it can serve as a foundation on which progressively more details can be revealed. The result is understanding."

-- Michael Stelzner

Author of Writing White Papers

Hard Disc Memory RAM

"A hard disk drive (HDD) is a data storage device used for storing and retrieving digital information using rapidly rotating disks (platters) coated with magnetic material."

-- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hard_disk_drive

"Random-access memory (RAM) is a form of computer data storage....allows stored data to be accessed directly in any random order."

-- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAM

What are the key elements for the audience?

Access Speed

Storage

Temporary vs. Permanent

By analogy

Any Questions?

Email: rishavc@andrew.cmu.edu

Sources

http://www.writingwhitepapers.com/blog/2006/11/07/communicating-the-complex/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abstraction
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/This_is_not_a_pipe
http://www.jdarcy.com/publicspeakingbook.htm
http://www.jdarcy.com/presentationskillsconfusedmind.htm
http://search.credoreference.com/content/entry/bkhumgeo/abstraction/0

Images

http://www.computer.howstuffworks.com
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AInterior_view_of_Stockholm_Public_Library.jpg
http://www.caatsindia.co.in/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/mainLibrary.jpg
http://www.designofsignage.com/application/symbol/hospital/image/600x600/arrow-right.jpg
http://www.colourbox.com/vector/wrench-pipe-seamless-pattern-abstract-vector-art-illustration-vector-1942433
http://www.123rf.com/photo_17695111_isolated-tobacco-pipe-with-smoke-cloud-speech-and-thought-bubble.html