Most people are familiar with the distinction between physics and metaphysics. Physics is the fundamental science of material existence. Metaphysics is a higher-level study of reality as such. Physics, though vast, is just one piece in the larger puzzle we call metaphysics. The prefix “meta-“ normally indicates such a jump to a higher level of thinking.
This move — which I will call “level-skipping” ‑— is one of the keys to mental mobility. It has multiple uses in day-to-day thinking, but it requires a certain degree of effort. At its simplest, level-skipping is the habit of asking: “What larger picture is this a part of?”
One way to tap into level-skipping is to think in terms of categories or groups. You’re look at something — Bitcoin, a food mixer, an outburst of rage — and you ask yourself: “What kind of thing is this? What category does it belong to?” This question can prompt you to skip up a level.
Let’s take Bitcoin as an example. What larger group does Bitcoin belong to? We can say: “It’s a crypto-currency” but that doesn’t take us far. Thinking more carefully, we might come up with: “An encrypted record of transactions, distributed over a large network.” A bit of a mouthful, but it gives us a larger category in which to place Bitcoin, the object we began with.
Why would such a jump be useful? Because you could then ask: What other transactions might be encrypted over a large network? How about loans? Or insurance? Or equities?
The last of these is already on point of becoming reality: crypto-equities are just now emerging at the futuristic edge of the financial world. Did the idea of crypto-equities come about through level-skipping? I don’t know. But this little excursion gives us a handy example of how level-skipping can be put to use.