Yep, I agree with the figuring out the right level of abstraction being a problem.

I think being explicit about current understanding is step 1 to generating new insights. Without the base of knowledge, how do you figure out if what you discovered is “new” or something you implicitly knew already?

I wrote a while ago about this, if you’re interested —

How to see Systems in everyday life

and a more practical follow up:

A Practical Guide to Systems Thinking