Categorization enables thought but inevitably blurs the individual features it generalizes.

Evidence

The act of categorization, however, deprives people of the ability to perceive some aspects of the world: stimuli can be assimilated to the category only if their peculiarities are overlooked. Here resides the dual nature of categorization: “Categorical thinking is a natural and inevitable tendency of the human mind” and “has property of guiding daily adjustments” (Allport, 1954/ 1979, pp.170–1), but it also impoverishes experiences and leads to a host of perceptual, judgmental, and memory biases. — , Rudman, Laurie A - On the Nature of…, 1154

Categorization

• DEFINE: States the dual nature of categorization—necessary yet costly—in one compact formulation.
• XREF: connects to: Repeated, common features of things are not necessarily deeper or more significant than particulars.; Classification enables thought but does not itself constitute understanding.; An ostensibly singular concept can lull analysts into overgeneralization. — Farhan Samanani, Conviviality and its others: for a…, 87