{"id":26324,"date":"2021-11-03T09:00:40","date_gmt":"2021-11-03T16:00:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.magneticmemorymethod.com\/?p=26324"},"modified":"2024-09-19T01:28:18","modified_gmt":"2024-09-19T08:28:18","slug":"concrete-thinking","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.magneticmemorymethod.com\/concrete-thinking\/","title":{"rendered":"Concrete Thinking: What You Need to Know (and How it Differs From Abstract)"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"powerpress_player\" id=\"powerpress_player_8854\"><!--[if lt IE 9]><script>document.createElement('audio');<\/script><![endif]-->\n<audio class=\"wp-audio-shortcode\" id=\"audio-26324-1\" preload=\"none\" style=\"width: 100%;\" controls=\"controls\"><source type=\"audio\/mpeg\" src=\"https:\/\/traffic.libsyn.com\/secure\/magneticmemorymethod\/Concrete_Thinking__What_You_Need_to_Know_and_How_it_Differs_From_Abstract.mp3?_=1\" \/><a href=\"https:\/\/traffic.libsyn.com\/secure\/magneticmemorymethod\/Concrete_Thinking__What_You_Need_to_Know_and_How_it_Differs_From_Abstract.mp3\">https:\/\/traffic.libsyn.com\/secure\/magneticmemorymethod\/Concrete_Thinking__What_You_Need_to_Know_and_How_it_Differs_From_Abstract.mp3<\/a><\/audio><\/div><p class=\"powerpress_links powerpress_links_mp3\" style=\"margin-bottom: 1px !important;\">Podcast: <a href=\"https:\/\/traffic.libsyn.com\/secure\/magneticmemorymethod\/Concrete_Thinking__What_You_Need_to_Know_and_How_it_Differs_From_Abstract.mp3\" class=\"powerpress_link_d\" title=\"Download\" rel=\"nofollow\" download=\"Concrete_Thinking__What_You_Need_to_Know_and_How_it_Differs_From_Abstract.mp3\">Download<\/a><\/p><p class=\"powerpress_links powerpress_subscribe_links\">Subscribe: <a href=\"https:\/\/itunes.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/anthony-metiviers-magnetic-memory-method-podcast\/id790315802?mt=2&amp;ls=1#episodeGuid=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.magneticmemorymethod.com%2F%3Fp%3D26324\" class=\"powerpress_link_subscribe powerpress_link_subscribe_itunes\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Subscribe on Apple Podcasts\" rel=\"nofollow\">Apple Podcasts<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/www.magneticmemorymethod.com\/feed\/podcast\/\" class=\"powerpress_link_subscribe powerpress_link_subscribe_rss\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Subscribe via RSS\" rel=\"nofollow\">RSS<\/a><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-26325\" src=\"https:\/\/e5hougg55fx.exactdn.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/concrete-thinking-feature-image-300x300.jpg?strip=all&lossy=1&quality=60&ssl=1\" alt=\"concrete thinking feature image\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/e5hougg55fx.exactdn.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/concrete-thinking-feature-image-300x300.jpg?strip=all&amp;lossy=1&amp;quality=60&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/e5hougg55fx.exactdn.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/concrete-thinking-feature-image-150x150.jpg?strip=all&amp;lossy=1&amp;quality=60&amp;ssl=1 150w, https:\/\/e5hougg55fx.exactdn.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/concrete-thinking-feature-image-60x60.jpg?strip=all&amp;lossy=1&amp;quality=60&amp;ssl=1 60w, https:\/\/e5hougg55fx.exactdn.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/concrete-thinking-feature-image.jpg?strip=all&amp;lossy=1&amp;quality=60&amp;ssl=1 350w, https:\/\/e5hougg55fx.exactdn.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/concrete-thinking-feature-image.jpg?strip=all&amp;lossy=1&amp;quality=60&amp;w=210&amp;ssl=1 210w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/>Want to know why concrete thinking is so difficult to define?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It\u2019s because people use the term in many different ways. I observed this for years while teaching critical thinking as a professor.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">To this day, I observe multiple uses as people regularly ask me for help in making their minds more practical and their memory skills sharper.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Here&#8217;s something else a bit strange that I&#8217;ve encountered as a memory expert: People will ask me to help them remember &#8220;abstract&#8221; concepts, thinking that <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">abstract thinking is somehow the opposite of concrete thinking.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>But is that really the case?<\/p>\n<p>Not always.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You actually can experience some incredibly <strong>concrete abstractions<\/strong>. Flags, for example, represent entire countries at an abstract level. Yet flags are also incredibly concrete.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">So what gives?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you\u2019re confused, don\u2019t worry. We\u2019re going to get to the bottom of things on this page.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">That way, when people say things to you like \u201cconcrete thinking is literal thinking,\u201d you\u2019ll be able to respond\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cYes, it is that, but also so much more.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Are you ready?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Let\u2019s dive in!<\/span><\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center;\"><b>What Is Concrete Thinking?<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The first thing we need to understand is that thinking is always about representing knowledge.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The world is a very complex place, but for the sake of simplicity, we can boil our experience of it down to three kinds information:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Material<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Conceptual<\/span><\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\">Experiential<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When it comes to the experience part, many people cite <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Jean_Piaget\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Jean Piaget<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> as an expert in concrete thinking. However, I believe this is a false attribution.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Here\u2019s why:<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Piaget was really talking about something called <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">concrete experience<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In the first of his four stages of development, he discusses Sensorimotor development, which takes place between birth and the age of two. There is not necessarily anything related to thinking as we normally mean it going on during this period of life.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-26326\" src=\"https:\/\/e5hougg55fx.exactdn.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/a-mom-is-playing-with-her-kid.jpg?strip=all&lossy=1&quality=60&ssl=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"1280\" height=\"800\" srcset=\"https:\/\/e5hougg55fx.exactdn.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/a-mom-is-playing-with-her-kid.jpg?strip=all&amp;lossy=1&amp;quality=60&amp;ssl=1 1280w, https:\/\/e5hougg55fx.exactdn.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/a-mom-is-playing-with-her-kid-300x188.jpg?strip=all&amp;lossy=1&amp;quality=60&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/e5hougg55fx.exactdn.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/a-mom-is-playing-with-her-kid-1024x640.jpg?strip=all&amp;lossy=1&amp;quality=60&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/e5hougg55fx.exactdn.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/a-mom-is-playing-with-her-kid-768x480.jpg?strip=all&amp;lossy=1&amp;quality=60&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/e5hougg55fx.exactdn.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/a-mom-is-playing-with-her-kid-758x474.jpg?strip=all&amp;lossy=1&amp;quality=60&amp;ssl=1 758w, https:\/\/e5hougg55fx.exactdn.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/a-mom-is-playing-with-her-kid.jpg?strip=all&amp;lossy=1&amp;quality=60&amp;w=512&amp;ssl=1 512w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Rather, the goal of the child during this stage is to establish what is called \u201cobject permanence.\u201d In other words, the child \u201cremembers\u201d that objects exist even when they are outside of awareness.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Concrete experience with objects is needed for this to take place.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It\u2019s only during stage 2 that symbolic thought, which involves <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.magneticmemorymethod.com\/abstract-thinking\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">abstract thinking<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> begins to emerge. Later, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.magneticmemorymethod.com\/how-to-think-logically\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">logical thinking<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and then scientific reasoning develop at different levels depending on the individual\u2019s context.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>So with Piaget out of the way, let&#8217;s look at what really defines concrete thinking.<\/p>\n<h3><b>The Real Definition Of Concrete Thought<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I believe Maxine Anderson puts it best in a book called, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.routledge.com\/Absolute-Truth-and-Unbearable-Psychic-Pain-Psychoanalytic-Perspectives\/Frosch\/p\/book\/9781855757981\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Absolute Truth and Unbearable Psychic Pain<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">:<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cSimply put, the concrete state of mind relates to reality in terms of sensory perception and sensory experience, defining reality in terms of what the peripheral senses convey. More specifically it is a state of mind in which metaphor and symbolic thought are not available.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Researchers have generally agreed. In <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pmc\/articles\/PMC4014104\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">this study<\/a>, for example, the researchers found that you have to bring a &#8220;concretizing mindset&#8221; in order to help define what you&#8217;re experiencing.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">To better understand the need to literally work at making your thoughts about an experience concrete, try this exercise:<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Place an orange in your hand. Think about how it feels in your hand and how it will taste.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-26327\" src=\"https:\/\/e5hougg55fx.exactdn.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/an-orange-in-a-hand.jpg?strip=all&lossy=1&quality=60&ssl=1\" alt=\"an orange in a hand\" width=\"1280\" height=\"800\" srcset=\"https:\/\/e5hougg55fx.exactdn.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/an-orange-in-a-hand.jpg?strip=all&amp;lossy=1&amp;quality=60&amp;ssl=1 1280w, https:\/\/e5hougg55fx.exactdn.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/an-orange-in-a-hand-300x188.jpg?strip=all&amp;lossy=1&amp;quality=60&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/e5hougg55fx.exactdn.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/an-orange-in-a-hand-1024x640.jpg?strip=all&amp;lossy=1&amp;quality=60&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/e5hougg55fx.exactdn.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/an-orange-in-a-hand-768x480.jpg?strip=all&amp;lossy=1&amp;quality=60&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/e5hougg55fx.exactdn.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/an-orange-in-a-hand-758x474.jpg?strip=all&amp;lossy=1&amp;quality=60&amp;ssl=1 758w, https:\/\/e5hougg55fx.exactdn.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/an-orange-in-a-hand.jpg?strip=all&amp;lossy=1&amp;quality=60&amp;w=512&amp;ssl=1 512w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Those are concrete thoughts. Although an abstract thought about how much the orange weighs or what country it comes from might arise, thoughts about feelings and taste are based on your concrete experience of stimuli in your immediate environment.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center;\"><b>3 Concrete Thinking Examples<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Other lists of examples claim that \u201cconcrete thinkers\u201d don\u2019t understand phrases like \u201cit\u2019s raining cats and dogs.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Frankly, I\u2019m not sure if that\u2019s true. If some people can\u2019t understand or relate to popular idioms, other issues may be involved, such as literacy levels, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.magneticmemorymethod.com\/reading-comprehension-strategies\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">reading comprehension<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.magneticmemorymethod.com\/deliberate-practice\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">sufficient practice<\/a> with self-expression.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">So with the immediacy of your physical senses in mind, let\u2019s look at some more examples. These will help better illuminate the concrete thinking process.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>One: Visible Thinking<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Although <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/us.corwin.com\/en-us\/nam\/book\/visible-thinking-k%E2%80%938-mathematics-classroom\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Visible Thinking<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> is a book for mathematics teachers, I believe its key points apply to all kinds of thinking.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The authors basically point out that even the most abstract and conceptual concepts can be made concrete by:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Speaking them out loud<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Hearing others discuss them<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Drawing them on a chalkboard<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Writing about them in a journal<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-26328\" src=\"https:\/\/e5hougg55fx.exactdn.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/long-hair-woman-drawing-on-a-chalkboard.jpg?strip=all&lossy=1&quality=60&ssl=1\" alt=\"long hair woman drawing on a chalkboard\" width=\"1280\" height=\"800\" srcset=\"https:\/\/e5hougg55fx.exactdn.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/long-hair-woman-drawing-on-a-chalkboard.jpg?strip=all&amp;lossy=1&amp;quality=60&amp;ssl=1 1280w, https:\/\/e5hougg55fx.exactdn.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/long-hair-woman-drawing-on-a-chalkboard-300x188.jpg?strip=all&amp;lossy=1&amp;quality=60&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/e5hougg55fx.exactdn.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/long-hair-woman-drawing-on-a-chalkboard-1024x640.jpg?strip=all&amp;lossy=1&amp;quality=60&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/e5hougg55fx.exactdn.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/long-hair-woman-drawing-on-a-chalkboard-768x480.jpg?strip=all&amp;lossy=1&amp;quality=60&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/e5hougg55fx.exactdn.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/long-hair-woman-drawing-on-a-chalkboard-758x474.jpg?strip=all&amp;lossy=1&amp;quality=60&amp;ssl=1 758w, https:\/\/e5hougg55fx.exactdn.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/long-hair-woman-drawing-on-a-chalkboard.jpg?strip=all&amp;lossy=1&amp;quality=60&amp;w=512&amp;ssl=1 512w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Memory expert <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.magneticmemorymethod.com\/tony-buzan\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Tony Buzan<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> was a huge proponent of visual thinking. His style of <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.magneticmemorymethod.com\/what-is-mind-mapping\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">mind mapping<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> has helped thousands of people turn complex ideas and processes into immediately graspable form. Using a mind map is one of the best ways to feel and see anything you find abstract in a concrete manner.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">One example is how Tony taught the rules that govern memory by having all of his students draw what he called <em>The Most Important Graph in the World<\/em>.<a href=\"https:\/\/e5hougg55fx.exactdn.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/the-most-important-graph-in-the-world.jpg?strip=all&lossy=1&quality=60&w=2560&ssl=1\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-22664\" src=\"https:\/\/e5hougg55fx.exactdn.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/the-most-important-graph-in-the-world.jpg?strip=all&lossy=1&quality=60&ssl=1\" alt=\"the most important graph in the world\" width=\"1034\" height=\"782\" srcset=\"https:\/\/e5hougg55fx.exactdn.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/the-most-important-graph-in-the-world.jpg?strip=all&amp;lossy=1&amp;quality=60&amp;ssl=1 1034w, https:\/\/e5hougg55fx.exactdn.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/the-most-important-graph-in-the-world-300x227.jpg?strip=all&amp;lossy=1&amp;quality=60&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/e5hougg55fx.exactdn.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/the-most-important-graph-in-the-world-1024x774.jpg?strip=all&amp;lossy=1&amp;quality=60&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/e5hougg55fx.exactdn.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/the-most-important-graph-in-the-world-768x581.jpg?strip=all&amp;lossy=1&amp;quality=60&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/e5hougg55fx.exactdn.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/the-most-important-graph-in-the-world-758x573.jpg?strip=all&amp;lossy=1&amp;quality=60&amp;ssl=1 758w, https:\/\/e5hougg55fx.exactdn.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/the-most-important-graph-in-the-world.jpg?strip=all&amp;lossy=1&amp;quality=60&amp;w=206&amp;ssl=1 206w, https:\/\/e5hougg55fx.exactdn.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/the-most-important-graph-in-the-world.jpg?strip=all&amp;lossy=1&amp;quality=60&amp;w=413&amp;ssl=1 413w, https:\/\/e5hougg55fx.exactdn.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/the-most-important-graph-in-the-world.jpg?strip=all&amp;lossy=1&amp;quality=60&amp;w=620&amp;ssl=1 620w, https:\/\/e5hougg55fx.exactdn.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/the-most-important-graph-in-the-world.jpg?strip=all&amp;lossy=1&amp;quality=60&amp;w=827&amp;ssl=1 827w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It\u2019s a simple concept, but has a lot of moving parts that can be difficult to understand when conveyed in writing alone. I never fully understood it myself until Tony had me draw it out in my own handwriting. Now this knowledge is very concrete in my mind because something about how <a href=\"https:\/\/www.magneticmemorymethod.com\/visual-memory\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">visual memory<\/a> works was amplified by the drawing process.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>You might think that my experience is an isolated example, but that&#8217;s not the case. Researchers have found that <a href=\"https:\/\/psycnet.apa.org\/doiLanding?doi=10.1037%2Fedu0000392\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">creative drawing<\/a> does indeed assist memory and comprehension. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.frontiersin.org\/journals\/education\/articles\/10.3389\/feduc.2024.1365202\/full\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Other researchers<\/a> are working on ways to have this kind of concretizing learning strategy spread more widely so more learners can benefit.<\/p>\n<h3><b>Two: Relationships (In Life And In Art)<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ever found yourself attracted to a person but you don\u2019t know why?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The philosopher Immanuel Kant called this <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">die Verwandtschaft <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">in German. It means \u201caffinity,\u201d \u201crelatedness\u201d or \u201ckinship.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The German poet and novelist Johann Wolfgang von Goethe even wrote a novel about this concept, <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Die Wahlverwandtschaften<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> or <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Elective_Affinities\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Elective Affinities<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. In this novel, Goethe used principles of chemistry to explore whether or not human relationships like marriage follow certain concrete, biological rules.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">No matter where you stand on such divisive topics, you\u2019ve probably felt your heart race when you\u2019ve been attracted to someone. You\u2019ve probably experienced the instinct to protect a sibling or close friend.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The thoughts that occur during such situations are immediate, primal and perfect examples of what we really mean by concrete thinking.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We know that Goethe had the concrete in mind because he wrote Elective Affinities using a style of literature called <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Weimar_Classicism\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Weimar Classicism<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. Although abstraction is part of this form, through the principle of <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Stoff<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, writers using this style worked assiduously to make sure even the highest concepts were firmly attached to immediate aspects of concrete reality.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>Three: Concrete Contemplation<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The goal of Zen and many other contemplative traditions is to live in the here and now.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Does it get any more concrete than that?<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Not really, especially when you <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sciencedirect.com\/science\/article\/abs\/pii\/S0005796718301256\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">read the research showing that people with depression tend to think more abstractly than those who don&#8217;t<\/a>. Whether it&#8217;s Zen or Stoicism, thinking concretely for contemplative purposes is very useful for many aspects of psychological health.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How does it work?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In Zen, the practitioner typically focuses on a <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Koan\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">koan<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. It is a question or statement that helps you experience doubt about the authenticity of your mental world. As you reflect on the koan, you become deeply embedded in the physical nature of the present moment.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>One of my favorites comes from the <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Blue_Cliff_Record\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Blue Cliff Record<\/a> and you can immediately see how concrete it is:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><em>Student: What is an example of an enlightened person?<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Teacher: Two eyes in a skull.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-26330\" src=\"https:\/\/e5hougg55fx.exactdn.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/a-girl-is-meditating-in-red-wall-park.jpg?strip=all&lossy=1&quality=60&ssl=1\" alt=\"a girl is meditating in red wall park\" width=\"1280\" height=\"800\" srcset=\"https:\/\/e5hougg55fx.exactdn.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/a-girl-is-meditating-in-red-wall-park.jpg?strip=all&amp;lossy=1&amp;quality=60&amp;ssl=1 1280w, https:\/\/e5hougg55fx.exactdn.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/a-girl-is-meditating-in-red-wall-park-300x188.jpg?strip=all&amp;lossy=1&amp;quality=60&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/e5hougg55fx.exactdn.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/a-girl-is-meditating-in-red-wall-park-1024x640.jpg?strip=all&amp;lossy=1&amp;quality=60&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/e5hougg55fx.exactdn.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/a-girl-is-meditating-in-red-wall-park-768x480.jpg?strip=all&amp;lossy=1&amp;quality=60&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/e5hougg55fx.exactdn.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/a-girl-is-meditating-in-red-wall-park-758x474.jpg?strip=all&amp;lossy=1&amp;quality=60&amp;ssl=1 758w, https:\/\/e5hougg55fx.exactdn.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/a-girl-is-meditating-in-red-wall-park.jpg?strip=all&amp;lossy=1&amp;quality=60&amp;w=512&amp;ssl=1 512w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I have personally benefited a great deal from this kind of koan-based <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.magneticmemorymethod.com\/concentration-meditation\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">concentration meditation<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. In this case, you have to think a little about what the koan is saying, and there&#8217;s more than one possible interpretation. For me, it basically means that all people are enlightened. They just don&#8217;t necessarily see it yet.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>How specifically is concrete contemplation like this helpful?<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Personally, my mind used to be so undisciplined that I hardly noticed what was going on around me at all. The \u201cobject permanence\u201d of my own body was so lost to me that I would forget to eat for hours on end, not to mention other forms of neglect.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But then I learned these <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=kvtYjdriSpM\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">two questions that stop unwanted, abstract thinking<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. I\u2019ve been much more focused on the concrete present as a result.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Researchers have discussed why meditation might create this effect. In <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pmc\/articles\/PMC6088366\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">this study<\/a>, for example, it boils down to how meditation improves our ability to pay attention. Nothing is more concrete than being present to what&#8217;s going on around you, it seems.<\/p>\n<p>And it makes sense too. You can&#8217;t use <a href=\"https:\/\/www.magneticmemorymethod.com\/analytical-thinking\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">analytical thinking<\/a> at all to help reach concrete conclusions you aren&#8217;t paying attention. This is a point memory expert <a href=\"https:\/\/www.magneticmemorymethod.com\/harry-lorayne\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Harry Lorayne<\/a> made countless times throughout his long and successful career.<\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center;\"><b>Concrete vs Abstract Thinking: What\u2019s the Difference?<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The main difference between concrete and abstract thinking is scale.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Whereas concrete thinking is firmly located in the immediate here and now, based on the senses, abstract thinking goes much wider.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For example, if you are a concrete thinker reflecting on environmental issues, you might focus only on yourself and your family. An abstract thinker will extend to think about entire communities, possibly the entire world population and even compare macro and micro scales at the same time.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">An abstract thinker will likely also think about different historical periods and compare environmental data and predict future outcomes. This is obviously very different from the concrete thinker who focuses solely on the next few days or weeks ahead.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Of course, it\u2019s entirely possible to think at both levels of scale. In fact, we must if we want to survive.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center;\"><b>Exercises to Help You Im<\/b><b>prove Your Concrete Thinking<\/b><\/h2>\n<p>Now that we\u2019ve established what concrete thinking is and what it isn\u2019t, let\u2019s look at some ways to improve how you use this most important of all <a href=\"https:\/\/www.magneticmemorymethod.com\/types-of-thinking\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">the main types of thinking<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Forgive the pun, but this is where we will pour the foundations and cement them into place.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>Reproduce A Painting In Your Mind<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What could be more immediate and material than mentally recreating a painting that you\u2019re familiar with?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><iframe title=\"Brain Exercise: Can You Master The Painting?\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/uJbRKxDEHJE?feature=oembed&#038;enablejsapi=1&#038;origin=https:\/\/www.magneticmemorymethod.com\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The steps are simple:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Close your eyes<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Bring the painting to mind<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Imagine painting it with your own hand<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Focus on all the individual colors<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Verbally describe different contours<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Imagine moving into the painting and towards the vanishing point<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Repeat this exercise often with other paintings.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">And for bonus points, explore art galleries and art books so that you have even more references to use.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>Hilbert\u2019s Hotel<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/David_Hilbert\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">David Hilbert<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> thought a lot about infinity. It\u2019s one of the most abstract concepts we know.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Hilbert\u2019s Hotel exercise asks you to imagine infinity as an endless series of hotel rooms, each one occupied.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">However, you need to make room for one more guest. To do so, imagine each guest moving one room down, leaving the first room in the hotel empty.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As you play around with this:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Explore how you imagine this hotel (one floor, many floors?)<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Physically feel the movement of the guests as they move to the next room<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Hear the sounds in your ears<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Experience any emotions (like being disgruntled when you have to move)<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-26332\" src=\"https:\/\/e5hougg55fx.exactdn.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/hotel-rooms-and-swimming-pool.jpg?strip=all&lossy=1&quality=60&ssl=1\" alt=\"hotel rooms and swimming pool\" width=\"1280\" height=\"800\" srcset=\"https:\/\/e5hougg55fx.exactdn.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/hotel-rooms-and-swimming-pool.jpg?strip=all&amp;lossy=1&amp;quality=60&amp;ssl=1 1280w, https:\/\/e5hougg55fx.exactdn.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/hotel-rooms-and-swimming-pool-300x188.jpg?strip=all&amp;lossy=1&amp;quality=60&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/e5hougg55fx.exactdn.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/hotel-rooms-and-swimming-pool-1024x640.jpg?strip=all&amp;lossy=1&amp;quality=60&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/e5hougg55fx.exactdn.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/hotel-rooms-and-swimming-pool-768x480.jpg?strip=all&amp;lossy=1&amp;quality=60&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/e5hougg55fx.exactdn.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/hotel-rooms-and-swimming-pool-758x474.jpg?strip=all&amp;lossy=1&amp;quality=60&amp;ssl=1 758w, https:\/\/e5hougg55fx.exactdn.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/hotel-rooms-and-swimming-pool.jpg?strip=all&amp;lossy=1&amp;quality=60&amp;w=512&amp;ssl=1 512w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For bonus points, try to \u201cdouble\u201d infinity. In this version of the exercise, you have the guests move two rooms instead of one.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>The Wealth Exercise<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In a famous story called <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/The_Ones_Who_Walk_Away_from_Omelas\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, Ursula K. Le Guin describes a world in which one child suffers terribly so that others might thrive.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Read that story and then to complete this exercise, imagine that you are the richest person in the world.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Explore the moral dimension of how that feels.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What responsibility do you have to help others? What does that responsibility feel like?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What responsibility do you feel that others have to care for themselves?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Once you\u2019ve explored these ideas, write a 200-250 word essay response to the classic Wayne Dyer statement that all the money in the world will never solve poverty.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Is he right or wrong? Defend your answer.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>The Separate-Less Exercise<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Greg Goode provides many great concrete sensation exercises in his books.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For example, he describes an <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/inesaponte.com\/greg-goode-eng\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">exercise with an orange<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> where he asks you to find yourself as the observer while examining a piece of fruit.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Although this might seem counterintuitive and abstract, it\u2019s very hands one. What Goode is essentially asking you to do is realize that your experience is the most concrete thing any of us has access to.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">To complete the exercise:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Put an orange on a table or in your hand<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Describe exactly what you are actually seeing in terms of colors and shapes<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ask what is it that differentiates the table from the orange<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Notice that there is nothing in the visual display that says \u201ctable\u201d or \u201corange\u201d<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ask yourself, why do you know these terms?\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-26333\" src=\"https:\/\/e5hougg55fx.exactdn.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/citrus-fruits-on-a-table.jpg?strip=all&lossy=1&quality=60&ssl=1\" alt=\"citrus fruits on a table\" width=\"1280\" height=\"800\" srcset=\"https:\/\/e5hougg55fx.exactdn.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/citrus-fruits-on-a-table.jpg?strip=all&amp;lossy=1&amp;quality=60&amp;ssl=1 1280w, https:\/\/e5hougg55fx.exactdn.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/citrus-fruits-on-a-table-300x188.jpg?strip=all&amp;lossy=1&amp;quality=60&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/e5hougg55fx.exactdn.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/citrus-fruits-on-a-table-1024x640.jpg?strip=all&amp;lossy=1&amp;quality=60&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/e5hougg55fx.exactdn.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/citrus-fruits-on-a-table-768x480.jpg?strip=all&amp;lossy=1&amp;quality=60&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/e5hougg55fx.exactdn.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/citrus-fruits-on-a-table-758x474.jpg?strip=all&amp;lossy=1&amp;quality=60&amp;ssl=1 758w, https:\/\/e5hougg55fx.exactdn.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/citrus-fruits-on-a-table.jpg?strip=all&amp;lossy=1&amp;quality=60&amp;w=512&amp;ssl=1 512w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As you go through this process of inquiry, different memories might arise about how you have been effectively trained through education to think in particular ways.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Don\u2019t be alarmed. You\u2019re using concrete thinking to encounter just how cemented into social conventions your life has been all along.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>Concrete Thinking Is Consciousness\u00a0<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If there\u2019s one major takeaway I hope you\u2019ll get, it\u2019s that you are experiencing the present moment in a concrete way each and every second that passes.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">However, most of us are lost in a very abstract set of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.magneticmemorymethod.com\/thought-process\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">thinking processes<\/a> that pull our attention away from the concreteness of the present.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Or are we?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you take the orange exercise one step further, is it really true that our absent-minded thoughts are somehow the opposite of concrete thinking?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Just because we get lost in thought doesn\u2019t mean we\u2019re somehow not experiencing lost-in-thoughtness itself in a non-concrete way.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In other words, it\u2019s still a conscious experience in the same way dreaming is an immediate and real experience.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When you take this realization into your everyday life and use memory techniques like the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.magneticmemorymethod.com\/memory-palace\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Memory Palace<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, life will feel much more immediate and satisfying. It was more concrete than you realized all along.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">And if you need more help in making abstract ideas concrete, I suggest you sign up for this free course:<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.magneticmemorymethod.com\/free-memory-improvement-kit\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-28732\" src=\"https:\/\/e5hougg55fx.exactdn.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Free-Memory-Improvement-Course-New.jpg?strip=all&lossy=1&quality=60&ssl=1\" alt=\"Free Memory Improvement Course\" width=\"1200\" height=\"800\" srcset=\"https:\/\/e5hougg55fx.exactdn.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Free-Memory-Improvement-Course-New.jpg?strip=all&amp;lossy=1&amp;quality=60&amp;ssl=1 1200w, https:\/\/e5hougg55fx.exactdn.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Free-Memory-Improvement-Course-New-300x200.jpg?strip=all&amp;lossy=1&amp;quality=60&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/e5hougg55fx.exactdn.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Free-Memory-Improvement-Course-New-1024x683.jpg?strip=all&amp;lossy=1&amp;quality=60&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/e5hougg55fx.exactdn.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Free-Memory-Improvement-Course-New-768x512.jpg?strip=all&amp;lossy=1&amp;quality=60&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/e5hougg55fx.exactdn.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Free-Memory-Improvement-Course-New-758x505.jpg?strip=all&amp;lossy=1&amp;quality=60&amp;ssl=1 758w, https:\/\/e5hougg55fx.exactdn.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Free-Memory-Improvement-Course-New.jpg?strip=all&amp;lossy=1&amp;quality=60&amp;w=240&amp;ssl=1 240w, https:\/\/e5hougg55fx.exactdn.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Free-Memory-Improvement-Course-New.jpg?strip=all&amp;lossy=1&amp;quality=60&amp;w=480&amp;ssl=1 480w, https:\/\/e5hougg55fx.exactdn.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Free-Memory-Improvement-Course-New.jpg?strip=all&amp;lossy=1&amp;quality=60&amp;w=960&amp;ssl=1 960w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">So what do you say?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Are you ready to start experiencing the world of your mind in a new and more concrete way?<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Bring it on!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Concrete thinking is very different than abstract thinking. It&#8217;s also more easier to understand than science describes. Learn all about it now.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":26325,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5924,7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-26324","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-thinking","category-podcast"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.2 (Yoast SEO v26.2) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Concrete Thinking: What You Need to Know<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Concrete thinking is very different than abstract thinking. It&#039;s also more easier to understand than science describes. Learn more now.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.magneticmemorymethod.com\/concrete-thinking\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Concrete Thinking: What You Need to Know (and How it Differs From Abstract)\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Concrete thinking is very different than abstract thinking. It&#039;s also more easier to understand than science describes. Learn more now.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.magneticmemorymethod.com\/concrete-thinking\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Magnetic Memory Method - How to Memorize With A Memory Palace\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pages\/Anthony-Metivier\/480537711995886\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pages\/Anthony-Metivier\/480537711995886\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-11-03T16:00:40+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-09-19T08:28:18+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.magneticmemorymethod.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/concrete-thinking-feature-image.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"350\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"350\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Anthony Metivier\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@AnthonyMetivier\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@AnthonyMetivier\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Anthony Metivier\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"13 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.magneticmemorymethod.com\/concrete-thinking\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.magneticmemorymethod.com\/concrete-thinking\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Anthony Metivier\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.magneticmemorymethod.com\/#\/schema\/person\/91f1ccf0ddbf8a899d8e49fca494e858\"},\"headline\":\"Concrete Thinking: What You Need to Know (and How it Differs From Abstract)\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-11-03T16:00:40+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-09-19T08:28:18+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.magneticmemorymethod.com\/concrete-thinking\/\"},\"wordCount\":2449,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.magneticmemorymethod.com\/#\/schema\/person\/91f1ccf0ddbf8a899d8e49fca494e858\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.magneticmemorymethod.com\/concrete-thinking\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/e5hougg55fx.exactdn.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/concrete-thinking-feature-image.jpg?strip=all&lossy=1&quality=60&ssl=1\",\"articleSection\":[\"Critical Thinking\",\"Podcast\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.magneticmemorymethod.com\/concrete-thinking\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.magneticmemorymethod.com\/concrete-thinking\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.magneticmemorymethod.com\/concrete-thinking\/\",\"name\":\"Concrete Thinking: What You Need to Know\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.magneticmemorymethod.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.magneticmemorymethod.com\/concrete-thinking\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.magneticmemorymethod.com\/concrete-thinking\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/e5hougg55fx.exactdn.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/concrete-thinking-feature-image.jpg?strip=all&lossy=1&quality=60&ssl=1\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-11-03T16:00:40+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-09-19T08:28:18+00:00\",\"description\":\"Concrete thinking is very different than abstract thinking. It's also more easier to understand than science describes. Learn more now.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.magneticmemorymethod.com\/concrete-thinking\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.magneticmemorymethod.com\/concrete-thinking\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.magneticmemorymethod.com\/concrete-thinking\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/e5hougg55fx.exactdn.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/concrete-thinking-feature-image.jpg?strip=all&lossy=1&quality=60&ssl=1\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/e5hougg55fx.exactdn.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/concrete-thinking-feature-image.jpg?strip=all&lossy=1&quality=60&ssl=1\",\"width\":350,\"height\":350,\"caption\":\"concrete thinking feature image\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.magneticmemorymethod.com\/concrete-thinking\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.magneticmemorymethod.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Concrete Thinking: What You Need to Know (and How it Differs From Abstract)\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.magneticmemorymethod.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.magneticmemorymethod.com\/\",\"name\":\"Magnetic Memory Method - How to Memorize With A Memory Palace\",\"description\":\"Learn, Memorize And Recall Anything Using Memory Techniques, Mnemonics And A Memory Palace Fast\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.magneticmemorymethod.com\/#\/schema\/person\/91f1ccf0ddbf8a899d8e49fca494e858\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.magneticmemorymethod.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":[\"Person\",\"Organization\"],\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.magneticmemorymethod.com\/#\/schema\/person\/91f1ccf0ddbf8a899d8e49fca494e858\",\"name\":\"Anthony Metivier\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.magneticmemorymethod.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/e5hougg55fx.exactdn.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/Anthony-Metivier-headshot.jpg?strip=all&lossy=1&quality=60&ssl=1\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/e5hougg55fx.exactdn.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/Anthony-Metivier-headshot.jpg?strip=all&lossy=1&quality=60&ssl=1\",\"width\":350,\"height\":350,\"caption\":\"Anthony Metivier\"},\"logo\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.magneticmemorymethod.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\"},\"description\":\"Anthony Metivier is the founder of the Magnetic Memory Method, a systematic, 21st Century approach to memorizing foreign language vocabulary, names, music, poetry and much more in ways that are easy, elegant, effective and fun. He holds a Ph.D. in Humanities from York University and has been featured in Forbes, Viva Magazine, Fluent in 3 Months, Daily Stoic, Learning How to Learn, StoryLearning and has delivered one of the most popular TEDx Talks on memory improvement. His most widely read books include The Victorious Mind and the How to Learn &amp; Memorize Series.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.magneticmemorymethod.com\/\",\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pages\/Anthony-Metivier\/480537711995886\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/AnthonyMetivier\"]}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Concrete Thinking: What You Need to Know","description":"Concrete thinking is very different than abstract thinking. It's also more easier to understand than science describes. Learn more now.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.magneticmemorymethod.com\/concrete-thinking\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Concrete Thinking: What You Need to Know (and How it Differs From Abstract)","og_description":"Concrete thinking is very different than abstract thinking. It's also more easier to understand than science describes. Learn more now.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.magneticmemorymethod.com\/concrete-thinking\/","og_site_name":"Magnetic Memory Method - How to Memorize With A Memory Palace","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pages\/Anthony-Metivier\/480537711995886","article_author":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pages\/Anthony-Metivier\/480537711995886","article_published_time":"2021-11-03T16:00:40+00:00","article_modified_time":"2024-09-19T08:28:18+00:00","og_image":[{"width":350,"height":350,"url":"https:\/\/www.magneticmemorymethod.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/concrete-thinking-feature-image.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Anthony Metivier","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@AnthonyMetivier","twitter_site":"@AnthonyMetivier","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Anthony Metivier","Est. reading time":"13 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.magneticmemorymethod.com\/concrete-thinking\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.magneticmemorymethod.com\/concrete-thinking\/"},"author":{"name":"Anthony Metivier","@id":"https:\/\/www.magneticmemorymethod.com\/#\/schema\/person\/91f1ccf0ddbf8a899d8e49fca494e858"},"headline":"Concrete Thinking: What You Need to Know (and How it Differs From Abstract)","datePublished":"2021-11-03T16:00:40+00:00","dateModified":"2024-09-19T08:28:18+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.magneticmemorymethod.com\/concrete-thinking\/"},"wordCount":2449,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.magneticmemorymethod.com\/#\/schema\/person\/91f1ccf0ddbf8a899d8e49fca494e858"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.magneticmemorymethod.com\/concrete-thinking\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/e5hougg55fx.exactdn.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/concrete-thinking-feature-image.jpg?strip=all&lossy=1&quality=60&ssl=1","articleSection":["Critical Thinking","Podcast"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.magneticmemorymethod.com\/concrete-thinking\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.magneticmemorymethod.com\/concrete-thinking\/","url":"https:\/\/www.magneticmemorymethod.com\/concrete-thinking\/","name":"Concrete Thinking: What You Need to Know","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.magneticmemorymethod.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.magneticmemorymethod.com\/concrete-thinking\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.magneticmemorymethod.com\/concrete-thinking\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/e5hougg55fx.exactdn.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/concrete-thinking-feature-image.jpg?strip=all&lossy=1&quality=60&ssl=1","datePublished":"2021-11-03T16:00:40+00:00","dateModified":"2024-09-19T08:28:18+00:00","description":"Concrete thinking is very different than abstract thinking. It's also more easier to understand than science describes. Learn more now.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.magneticmemorymethod.com\/concrete-thinking\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.magneticmemorymethod.com\/concrete-thinking\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.magneticmemorymethod.com\/concrete-thinking\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/e5hougg55fx.exactdn.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/concrete-thinking-feature-image.jpg?strip=all&lossy=1&quality=60&ssl=1","contentUrl":"https:\/\/e5hougg55fx.exactdn.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/concrete-thinking-feature-image.jpg?strip=all&lossy=1&quality=60&ssl=1","width":350,"height":350,"caption":"concrete thinking feature image"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.magneticmemorymethod.com\/concrete-thinking\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.magneticmemorymethod.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Concrete Thinking: What You Need to Know (and How it Differs From Abstract)"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.magneticmemorymethod.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.magneticmemorymethod.com\/","name":"Magnetic Memory Method - How to Memorize With A Memory Palace","description":"Learn, Memorize And Recall Anything Using Memory Techniques, Mnemonics And A Memory Palace Fast","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.magneticmemorymethod.com\/#\/schema\/person\/91f1ccf0ddbf8a899d8e49fca494e858"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.magneticmemorymethod.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":["Person","Organization"],"@id":"https:\/\/www.magneticmemorymethod.com\/#\/schema\/person\/91f1ccf0ddbf8a899d8e49fca494e858","name":"Anthony Metivier","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.magneticmemorymethod.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/e5hougg55fx.exactdn.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/Anthony-Metivier-headshot.jpg?strip=all&lossy=1&quality=60&ssl=1","contentUrl":"https:\/\/e5hougg55fx.exactdn.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/Anthony-Metivier-headshot.jpg?strip=all&lossy=1&quality=60&ssl=1","width":350,"height":350,"caption":"Anthony Metivier"},"logo":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.magneticmemorymethod.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/"},"description":"Anthony Metivier is the founder of the Magnetic Memory Method, a systematic, 21st Century approach to memorizing foreign language vocabulary, names, music, poetry and much more in ways that are easy, elegant, effective and fun. He holds a Ph.D. in Humanities from York University and has been featured in Forbes, Viva Magazine, Fluent in 3 Months, Daily Stoic, Learning How to Learn, StoryLearning and has delivered one of the most popular TEDx Talks on memory improvement. His most widely read books include The Victorious Mind and the How to Learn &amp; Memorize Series.","sameAs":["https:\/\/www.magneticmemorymethod.com\/","https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pages\/Anthony-Metivier\/480537711995886","https:\/\/x.com\/AnthonyMetivier"]}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.magneticmemorymethod.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26324","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.magneticmemorymethod.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.magneticmemorymethod.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.magneticmemorymethod.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.magneticmemorymethod.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26324"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.magneticmemorymethod.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26324\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":39312,"href":"https:\/\/www.magneticmemorymethod.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26324\/revisions\/39312"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.magneticmemorymethod.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/26325"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.magneticmemorymethod.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26324"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.magneticmemorymethod.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26324"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.magneticmemorymethod.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26324"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}