Mental models are the various thinking frameworks that are used to understand life, make decisions, and solve problems.
Just raw intelligence is not enough to solve problems. A different or a broader set of mental models can provide a different view of the problem, leading to an unconventional, new solution not thought of before.
When it comes to using our minds, we all want to learn how to think like Sherlock Holmes. This isn't just a way of solving a crime. It's a way of thinking. Maria Konnikova's book, Mastermind: How To Think Like Sherlock Holmes, takes a deep look at Sherlock Holmes's methodology to develop the habits of mind that will allow us to mindfully engage the world.
As children, we are remarkably aware to the world around us. This attention wanes over time as we allow more pressing responsibilities to attend to and demands on our minds to address. And as the demands on our attention increase so, too, does our actual attention decrease.
As it does so, we become less and less able to know or notice our own thought habits and more and more allow our minds to dictate our judgments and decisions, instead of the other way around.
Daniel Kahneman believes there are two systems for organizing and filtering knowledge:
System one is real-time. This system makes judgments and decisions before our mental apparatus can consciously catch up.
System two, on the other hand, is a slow process of thinking based on critical examination of evidence. Konnikova refers to these as System Watson and System Holmes.
To move from a System Watson- to a System Holmes-governed thinking takes mindfulness plus motivation.
I wrote a response on quora recently to the question 'how do I become a better thinker' that generated a lot of attention and feedback so I thought I'd build on that a little and post it here too. Thinking is not IQ.
We often make the mistake of thinking that people with high IQs think better. But it's not true. That's not the type of knowledge or brainpower that makes you better at life, happier, or more succe...
Become better at probing other people’s thinking. Ask questions. Simple ones are better. “Why” is the best.
Slow down. Make sure you give yourself time to think.
Probe yourself. Try and understand if you’re talking about something you really know something about or if you’re just regurgitating something you heard.
We're taught single loop learning from the time we are in grade school, but there's a better way. Double loop learning is the quickest and most efficient way to learn anything that you want to "stick." *** So, you've done the work necessary to have an opinion, learned the mental models, and considered how you make decisions.
The first time we aim for a goal, follow a rule or make a decision, we are engaging in single loop learning. If we question our approaches and make honest self-assessments, we shift...