Chunk Up, Down, and Laterally
Navigate abstraction by moving between categories, examples, and analogies.
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Time to result
- ~weeks to results
- Steps
- 6
- Confidence
- 96%
Chunk Up, Down, and Laterally is a navigation method for thought. To chunk up, ask what larger category, principle, or pattern the current subject exemplifies. To chunk down, generate specific instances that make the concept observable. To move laterally, find analogous examples at the same conceptual level in other contexts. Cycling among these directions reveals both the general mechanism and its concrete manifestations. It also exposes weak analogies because the thinker must state what carries across cases and what does not. The method turns the vague instruction to “think critically” into a set of repeatable prompts. Its output is a layered map of a concept that can support explanation, comparison, ideation, or strategic analysis.
Origin
Kieran Flanagan described the method on Marketing Against The Grain while discussing neurolinguistic programming and Alex Lieberman's reasoning process.
Core principles
- 01Moving up reveals the broader category.
- 02Moving down reveals concrete instances.
- 03Moving laterally reveals analogous cases.
- 04Rapid movement among levels improves understanding.
How to run it
- 1
Name the current chunk
State the concept or case at the level where it currently appears.
Pro tip Use a short, neutral description before interpreting it.
Watch out An imprecise starting chunk makes every later comparison unstable.
- 2
Chunk up
Ask what broader class, mechanism, or principle this is an example of.
Pro tip Continue upward until the category becomes useful rather than merely generic.
Watch out Moving too high can produce abstractions with no decision value.
- 3
Chunk down
Generate concrete examples, behaviors, or cases that instantiate the broader concept.
Pro tip Include both typical and edge cases.
Watch out One example cannot establish the boundaries of a category.
- 4
Move laterally
Find other examples at the same level that share the mechanism but come from different contexts.
Pro tip Use adjacent industries or familiar daily experiences.
Watch out Surface resemblance does not guarantee structural similarity.
- 5
Test the map
State what remains invariant and where each example or analogy stops fitting.
Pro tip Use mismatches to refine the broader category.
Watch out Do not preserve an attractive analogy after its mechanism fails.
- 6
Apply the insight
Use the layered map to explain the issue, generate options, or make a decision.
Pro tip Choose the level of abstraction appropriate to the audience.
Watch out The map aids reasoning but does not replace evidence.
In the wild
Start with an NFT. Chunk up to digitally recorded ownership, chunk down to collectibles, receipts, and mortgages, then move laterally to flea markets, trading cards, and authenticated private records. Compare the shared ownership mechanism and note differences in visibility, transferability, and legal status.
→ The thinker develops a richer model than treating every NFT as merely an online image.
Common mistakes
Moving in only one direction
Staying abstract loses practical meaning, while staying concrete hides the transferable mechanism.
Confusing analogy with identity
Lateral cases can illuminate a mechanism without being equivalent in every respect.
Choosing empty supercategories
A category such as “things” may be technically broader but provides no useful explanatory leverage.
Is it for you?
Best for
It is best for learners and decision-makers who need to understand, explain, or reframe unfamiliar concepts.
Not ideal for
It is not sufficient by itself when a decision requires empirical validation or specialist technical knowledge.
From the transcript
“they're able to take something and either chunk up, like what's this an example of, or what are examples of this to chunk back down…”
“you can kind of go lateral or up or down really quickly.”
From the episode
Framework Thinking for Success With Alex Lieberman
Alex Lieberman