ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Abstract detail

Imagine you have a puzzle. Each piece of the puzzle is part of a bigger picture. But what if you couldn't see the whole picture? What would you do?

Abstract detail is like having a puzzle piece without being able to see the whole picture. Sometimes, there are things that are too big or too complicated to see all at once. So we take little pieces from it and try to understand them.

For example, imagine a big painting of a forest. You can't see the whole forest at once, so you start looking at the trees. Maybe you notice one tree has an interesting shape or color. That's an abstract detail!

It's like zooming in on a tiny part of something big, and trying to understand it on its own. Sometimes it can be hard to figure out what the abstract detail means without seeing the whole thing, but it can also be really interesting to discover new things about it.