Concrete and Abstract Thinking
Jean Piaget uses the terms "concrete" and "formal" to describe the different types of learning. Concrete thinking involves facts and descriptions about everyday, tangible objects, while abstract (formal operational) thinking involves a mental process.
| Concrete idea | Abstract idea |
|---|---|
| Heavy things sink | It will sink if its density is greater than the density of the liquid. |
| You breathe in oxygen and breathe out carbon dioxide | Gas exchange takes place between the air in the alveoli and the blood |
| Plants get water through their roots | Water diffuses through the cell membrane of the root hair cells... |
Read more about this topic: Abstract Object
Famous quotes containing the words concrete, abstract and/or thinking:
“We are all hungry and thirsty for concrete images. Abstract art will have been good for one thing: to restore its exact virginity to figurative art.”
—Salvador Dali (1904–1989)
““If our minds could get hold of one abstract truth, they would be immortal so far as that truth is concerned. My trouble is to find out how we can get hold of the truth at all.””
—Henry Brooks Adams (1838–1918)
“They were not thinking of the means by which they could win, but how they could
make use of the victory.”
—Julius Caesar [Gaius Julius Caesar] (100–44 B.C.)