# Language Lets the Mind Explore Abstraction by Bryant McGill > “Opening genius requires language flexible enough to explore abstraction. Poetry, art, and metaphor let the mind work with ideas before they take concrete form. Returning those ideas to practical action completes the cycle.” > **— Bryant McGill**, *Opening Your Genius Through Language, Abstraction, and Manifesting - Livestream (Jan 2016)* ## Sources and Context - **Source:** [[livestreams/Opening Your Genius Through Language, Abstraction, and Manifesting - Livestream|Opening Your Genius Through Language, Abstraction, and Manifesting - Livestream]] — exact quotation from the developed livestream document. - **Conceptual context:** Vocabulary makes distinctions portable, metaphor lets one structure illuminate another, and symbolic forms allow possibilities to be explored before they become concrete actions or artifacts. ## Related Articles and Collections - **Collection:** [[collections/Simple Reminders|Simple Reminders]] - **Article:** [[articles/Analog Cognition and the Architecture of Continuity|Analog Cognition and the Architecture of Continuity]] - **Article:** [[articles/Humans and AIs as Entangled Learning Systems|Humans and AIs as Entangled Learning Systems]] - **Livestream:** [[livestreams/Opening Your Genius Through Language, Abstraction, and Manifesting - Livestream|Opening Your Genius Through Language, Abstraction, and Manifesting - Livestream]] ## Related Topics - [[wiki/Language and Abstraction|Language and Abstraction]] ## Share on Social Media ``` “Opening genius requires language flexible enough to explore abstraction. Poetry, art, and metaphor let the mind work with ideas before they take concrete form. Returning those ideas to practical action completes the cycle.” — Bryant McGill, Opening Your Genius Through Language, Abstraction, and Manifesting - Livestream (Jan 2016) https://bryantmcgill.com/simple-reminders-bryant-mcgill-language-mind-explore-abstraction ```