Mental models
They are chunks of knowledge that can be simplified and applied to better understand the world, by identify what information is relevant in any given situation, and the most reasonable parameters to work in.
Mental models simplify complex processes.
MORE IDEAS FROM THE ARTICLE
- We’re (sometimes) stupid: irrational, tired or distracted;
- We have the wrong information;
- We use the wrong model;
- We fail to learn;
- We go with what's easy over what's right.
RELATED IDEAS
- Inversion — Otherwise known as thinking something through in reverse or thinking “backwards,” inversion is a problem-solving technique.
- Second-Order Thinking — Ask yourself, “And then what?”
- The Map Is Not the Territory —The map of reality is not reality itself. If any map were to represent its actual territory with perfect fidelity, it would be the size of the territory itself.
When decisions involve uncertainties, the desired consequence may not be the one that actually results. A much-deliberated bone marrow transplant may or may not halt cancer.
