# Abstraction Keeps Yesterday From Imprisoning Tomorrow by Bryant McGill > “Abstraction allows a system to solve more than one immediate problem. Reusable media, adaptable identities, portable archives, and modular workflows reduce repeated disorder without imprisoning future work inside yesterday's platform assumptions.” > **— Bryant McGill**, *Social Media Success Through Trust, Platform Control, and Organic Reach - Livestream (Sep 2015)* ## Sources and Context - **Source:** [[livestreams/Social Media Success Through Trust, Platform Control, and Organic Reach - Livestream|Social Media Success Through Trust, Platform Control, and Organic Reach - Livestream]] — exact quotation from the developed livestream document. - **Conceptual context:** Abstraction preserves useful relationships while hiding unnecessary particulars. Reusable modules reduce duplicated work, make change easier to propagate, and keep multiple surfaces connected to a coherent underlying system. ## Related Articles and Collections - **Collection:** [[collections/Simple Reminders|Simple Reminders]] - **Article:** [[articles/A Systems-Diagnostic Framework for Planetary-Scale Computation|A Systems-Diagnostic Framework for Planetary-Scale Computation]] - **Article:** [[articles/Participation as an Information-Causal Principle|Participation as an Information-Causal Principle]] - **Livestream:** [[livestreams/Social Media Success Through Trust, Platform Control, and Organic Reach - Livestream|Social Media Success Through Trust, Platform Control, and Organic Reach - Livestream]] ## Related Topics - [[wiki/Modular Systems Architecture|Modular Systems Architecture]] ## Share on Social Media ``` “Abstraction allows a system to solve more than one immediate problem. Reusable media, adaptable identities, portable archives, and modular workflows reduce repeated disorder without imprisoning future work inside yesterday's platform assumptions.” — Bryant McGill, Social Media Success Through Trust, Platform Control, and Organic Reach - Livestream (Sep 2015) https://bryantmcgill.com/simple-reminders-bryant-mcgill-abstraction-prevents-platform-imprisonment ```