I Am What I Am: A Firework of a Different Color (On Logic and Concepts)

Logic and Concepts

Formal logic defines a concept as a form of thought that reflects the “specific” attributes (inherent or essential attributes) of things.

Recently, I’ve been exploring the question of whether there are ways for personal growth to truly “leap forward.”

Learning, refining knowledge, organizing notes, building knowledge systems, achieving cognitive awakening—these are all good practices. However, I constantly felt a lack of inner peace. Problems seemed endless, and I remained in a state of perpetual questioning and exploration.

In workplace communication, even when things seemed clearly explained, the results often differed significantly from expectations. Upon review, we’d find discrepancies in how individuals understood the underlying concepts.

One day, while reading, I came across Einstein’s quote: “The most incomprehensible thing about the world is that it is comprehensible.” Having long been perplexed by these issues, hearing the word “comprehensible” deeply resonated with me.

I later realized that one way to understand the world is through logic—through induction and deduction—and that the foundation of logic lies in “concepts.”

From this perspective, understanding the world becomes much simpler: have you truly grasped the underlying “concept”?

The most important aspect of a concept is its “defining characteristic”—the key factor that distinguishes it from other things. This realization makes many problems much easier to understand.

In the internet industry, it’s often said that if your product can’t be explained in a single sentence, it’s not a good product. In business, this relates to “positioning.” In logic, it’s simply a matter of defining a concept—the process of “defining.”

Many people say they struggle with expressing themselves. However, a lack of clear expression stems from a lack of clear thinking. The confusion arises from a lack of logical clarity, which, in turn, often stems from unclear “concepts.”

I now prefer a new way of note-taking using Flomo: recording only “keywords.” This method is fast and efficient. On the one hand, keywords serve as valuable clues for indexing. On the other hand, it forces me to consciously practice two essential logical skills: “deduction” and “abstraction.” I later expand on these keywords, even developing them into short articles.

Deduction is how you expand on a concept, making it easier to understand through definition, examples, and arguments. Abstraction is how you simplify a complex idea, extract commonalities, and express them concisely—a foundation for structured expression.

At last year’s Note Man conference, teacher Ke Zhou specifically mentioned “conceptual thinking.” After researching it, I found that Huawei’s Su Guanzhe also frequently discusses it.

Conceptual thinking is the ability to identify the essential characteristics of internal connections between things that appear to have no obvious connection on the surface.

From this definition, I understand it as a way of thinking that sees the essence through phenomena. However, this explanation still feels incomplete, as many ways of thinking achieve that goal. This isn’t unique to “conceptual thinking.” I’ve asked Ke Zhou some questions on this and will update with answers if I receive them.

Personally, I believe that one way to understand the world is by understanding the concepts of all things. How you understand concepts is how you understand the world.

As Leslie Cheung sang: “I am what I am: a firework of a different color.”

If “I” want to live a brilliant and independent life, I must have my own distinct characteristics—whether it’s personality or value output—a unique aspect that sets me apart. This is how I understand “self.”