Trust as an Abstraction

We’re caught in a paradox: the more information overwhelms us, the more we rely on summaries. Yet every summary is just a slice of the original, shaped by presets and biases.

If our attention is the most valuable capital we have, then each time we read, we are making an investment. How do we ensure a higher return on that investment?

My proposed approach is this: to view trust as a cognitive abstraction. This means shifting our investment from uncertain content to more reliable people. Let’s explore this mental model.