Abstraction’s Ratchet

To make a tool
With a modern
Human-type brain

Combines products
Of semantic,
Conceptual

Processes with
Mechanical
Neural know-how.

Now, in other
Tool-creating
Kinds of creatures,

We don’t know yet
All the neural
Architecture,

But would you bet
That in your brain
Words and concepts

Are already
The mind’s ratchet
To leverage

And hang on to
Each tool-making
Step? Step by step.