It’s been recommended to death on HN, but Sapiens is a really interesting look at the development of humans. It uses a lot of philosophy to explain things.
(Or in this case: an ISBN, which serves the same purpose. Unambiguous references are no longer an open issue. Open issue are: the lazyness to not use them, and persistent references (until either Bittorrent or IPFS is fully deployed).)
His (scarce) podcasts are also very well done. I used to follow a lot of self improvement podcasts and after having listened a lot in the last 5y, it's one of the few that I still follow and consider relevant.
His list of mental models is great, but I suspect that most people (myself included) would get more out of using the list as a means of searching for books (textbooks in particular) that teach you about the list items incidentally as part of a greater framework of knowledge.
The only reason I even recognize many of those items as useful is because I encountered them in university courses.
Best thing for getting stuff into your head: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1250623.How_to_Develop_a...
Much like weight lifting, following this book will give you specific memorisation techniques which can be useful, but also results in a general strengthening of memory, even when you don't use any of the exact techniques).
It also strengthens your ability to imagine things, and hold those images or arrangements in your head, which is useful for applying mental models you've learnt.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9793361-the-decision-boo...
Not the best, and I only really use the first one in the book (Eisenhower Matrix), but I found that alone to be worth the price (you could just google that one though). The rest of it is useful as examples of the wide variety of model types and types of things that can be modelled.
Thinking in Systems: A Primer, is a great book that I highly recommend. It's one of those books that serves as a great introduction to the subject of creating models of systems, and it's neither too long, nor overly specific on any particular subject. By the end of it, you'll know roughly enough to be able to know what you want to know next, in regards to system models.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3828902-thinking-in-syst...
“Thinking in Systems: A Primer” by Dana Meadows. One of the best books for understanding the worlds systems intuitively. Allows you to use a mathematical framework without needing precise numbers to get a model off the ground.
Related to this, "The Systems Thinking Playbook" is an excellent resource for demonstrating applied systems-thinking (and the power of mental-models) in a workshop setting.
Everything on https://www.lesserwrong.com/ - start with the recommended collections then dive in. Many of the more established texts are available as ebooks if you prefer.
Possibly not what you’re looking for, but the Leonardo Da Vinci biography by Isaacson has the clearest example of that I’ve ever seen. Leonardo’s methodology of learning is incredible and inspiring.
I've found that mental models -- even very abstract mental models -- are often domain specific, and benefit from domain expertise.
The most general mental models I have seen come from consultants who hop from industry to industry (SWOT for a business, of the BCG matrix) but even they are specific to firms and companies. Broadly speaking, these are often adaptable to any group effort.
There are a lot of books on these mental models or "strategy frameworks"
...and remember to make tests that don't confirm your model. If the set is 2, 4, 8, and your model is "powers of two", then, sure test 16, but also test 1, 3, 6, 0.5, 0.1 (maybe the correct model is "also 2 to the power 0" or "two to any integer, including negatives" or "all even numbers" or "any integer" - or something else).
This book was excellent for informing mental models.
I'd also say "How to Solve It" by Polya helps create a good mental model for problem solving that can apply to most any situation that requires structured thinking.
“The Decison Book: 50 Models for Strategic Thinking”, quick 2-page overview + diagram for each model. Good starting point and you can find other books to deep dive on models that you find useful.
I recommend "The Design of Everyday Things" by Donald A. Norman. It's not necessarily about developing mental models, but more about the fallout of how people can mistakenly use systems if you don't make the mental model of your design intuitive.
Just started going down this rabbit hole myself. I've noticed to really grasp and develop your own mental models you deeply have to understand a few things first:
1. Human biases: Every mental model is built upon some human bias.
2. How incentives work: Understanding the motivation behind why people do what they do.
3. Mental thought construction: Understanding how the brain gathers, processes and stores information.
4. Biology: How we've evolved (and haven't) from stone age times and how that still influences us today.
This is by no means exhaustive but are just some of the topics I've found most useful. That said, here are the best resources I've found:
- The Art Of Thinking Clearly by Rolf Dobelli: Taught me about human biases. Reads like a directory of most biases.
- Influence by Robert Cialdini: Taught me about incentives and a whole lot more.
- Metaphors We Live By by George Lakoff: Taught me about mental thought construction.
- Poor Charlie's Almanack by Charles Munger: Taught me about many things but most importantly good decision making.
- Thinking Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman: Taught me more about human biases.
- Predictably Irrational by Dan Ariely: Taught me more about how and why we make decisions and what good decisions are.
The thing I've really started to notice is it's not enough to know or read about mental models, you have to ruthlessly apply them. This is tough when even knowing about your biases doesn't stop you from still being affected by them.
this is a great list. I would add Hofstadter's Analogy as the fuel and fire of thinking and Chomsky's New horizons in the study of language and mind. they show that language structures are fundamental to consciousness.
66 comments
[ 3.1 ms ] story [ 130 ms ] threadWhich Sapiens exactly do you mean? Is it an article, a book, a documentary movie, a presentation such as a TED talk? Which is the full title?
I suppose you mean the book "Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind" (ISBN 978-0062316097), but I'm honestly not sure if I guessed correctly.
(Or in this case: an ISBN, which serves the same purpose. Unambiguous references are no longer an open issue. Open issue are: the lazyness to not use them, and persistent references (until either Bittorrent or IPFS is fully deployed).)
* Mental Models: The Best Way to Make Intelligent Decisions (113 Models Explained) - https://www.farnamstreetblog.com/mental-models/
The only reason I even recognize many of those items as useful is because I encountered them in university courses.
Mental Models I Find Repeatedly Useful
https://medium.com/@yegg/mental-models-i-find-repeatedly-use...
https://www.principles.com/
2. Extreme Ownership by Jocko Willink
I think it's a little more to the point compared to Extreme Ownership.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9793361-the-decision-boo... Not the best, and I only really use the first one in the book (Eisenhower Matrix), but I found that alone to be worth the price (you could just google that one though). The rest of it is useful as examples of the wide variety of model types and types of things that can be modelled.
Thinking in Systems: A Primer, is a great book that I highly recommend. It's one of those books that serves as a great introduction to the subject of creating models of systems, and it's neither too long, nor overly specific on any particular subject. By the end of it, you'll know roughly enough to be able to know what you want to know next, in regards to system models. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3828902-thinking-in-syst...
This blog post is more like a reference resource, and I think it's worth looking over and picking out whatever interests you: https://medium.com/@yegg/mental-models-i-find-repeatedly-use...
EDIT: because my formatting was atrocious.
Seeking Wisdom: From Darwin To Munger
It's a total hagiography with some dubious historical claims, but a fun and interesting read nonetheless.
http://rosenfeldmedia.com/books/mental-models/
Dives into the thoughts behind John Boyd’s OODA loop. Really good book.
The most general mental models I have seen come from consultants who hop from industry to industry (SWOT for a business, of the BCG matrix) but even they are specific to firms and companies. Broadly speaking, these are often adaptable to any group effort.
There are a lot of books on these mental models or "strategy frameworks"
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simulacra_and_Simulation
Deconstruction with lit crit is somewhat effective. Deconstruction to develop a mental model is EXTREMELY effective.
It seems rather easy to use deconstruction to see things that aren't really there.
Try probing the system so that it conforms to your model and revise it when new evidence is apparent.
I'm not a philosopher, but I do enjoy reading and learning about post modernism.
Isn't a large point of this book that you actually can't confirm a "ground truth"?
This is a good primer https://alistapart.com/article/liminal-thinking
I read it again every now and then. Explains cognitive biases, prospect theory and happiness.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thinking,_Fast_and_Slow
I'd also say "How to Solve It" by Polya helps create a good mental model for problem solving that can apply to most any situation that requires structured thinking.
This post has a good list of models:
https://25iq.com/2015/08/22/a-dozen-things-ive-learned-from-...
Tren’s weekly ‘dozen things I’ve learned from foo’ series is generally high quality.
This was a companion book for a very popular MOOC called "Learning How to Learn".
This gives you insights and practical advice on learning and it works for any subject, not just math & science.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00C57C392
1. Human biases: Every mental model is built upon some human bias.
2. How incentives work: Understanding the motivation behind why people do what they do.
3. Mental thought construction: Understanding how the brain gathers, processes and stores information.
4. Biology: How we've evolved (and haven't) from stone age times and how that still influences us today.
This is by no means exhaustive but are just some of the topics I've found most useful. That said, here are the best resources I've found:
- The Art Of Thinking Clearly by Rolf Dobelli: Taught me about human biases. Reads like a directory of most biases.
- Influence by Robert Cialdini: Taught me about incentives and a whole lot more.
- Metaphors We Live By by George Lakoff: Taught me about mental thought construction.
- Poor Charlie's Almanack by Charles Munger: Taught me about many things but most importantly good decision making.
- Sapiens by Yuval Harari and his course https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLE-kxvSEhkzDEmLQx3RE0...: Taught me about how we've evolved as humans and how we haven't.
- Thinking Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman: Taught me more about human biases.
- Predictably Irrational by Dan Ariely: Taught me more about how and why we make decisions and what good decisions are.
The thing I've really started to notice is it's not enough to know or read about mental models, you have to ruthlessly apply them. This is tough when even knowing about your biases doesn't stop you from still being affected by them.