Book 107 of 141

    From the library

    The Great Mental Models: General Thinking Concepts

    Shane Parrish, 2019

    In one paragraph

    The first volume in Shane Parrish's series on mental models, covering nine fundamental thinking concepts including first principles thinking, probabilistic thinking, inversion, and Occam's razor. Teaches readers how to upgrade their mental toolbox with versatile, all-purpose models for better decision-making and problem-solving across all areas of life.

    Also tagged

    Philosophy

    Where this sits in the operating system

    Multidisciplinary Thinking

    Mental Models & Decision Frameworks

    Inversion Thinking

    Mental Models & Decision Frameworks

    Long-term Compound Thinking

    Mental Models & Decision Frameworks

    Key insights

    The map is not the territory. Every model is a simplification and knowing which parts were discarded is the skill.

    Circle of competence: the boundary matters more than the size, and knowing where it ends is the usable part.

    Second-order thinking and inversion are the two with the highest return, and the two most often skipped.

    Recognise it early

    The failure and the correction sit side by side deliberately. Read the left column asking whether any of it is already true of you.

    What goes wrong

    Learning models without applying them to real decisions

    Better thinking leads to better decisionspractice on actual choices daily

    Using single models instead of multiple perspectives

    Multiple models from multiple disciplinesalways combine several approaches

    Overcomplicating simple situations with unnecessary complexity

    Simple explanations usually betteruse Occam's razor for elegant solutions

    Staying within comfortable thinking patterns

    Deliberately study mental models from unfamiliar disciplines and apply them

    Focusing on being right instead of thinking clearly

    Quality of thinking determines quality of lifeprioritize accurate understanding

    The same idea, argued differently

    Adam Smith

    Shane Parrish

    Nassim Nicholas Taleb

    The full breakdown

    Before you close this

    Naming the specific moment you will act roughly doubles the odds you do.

    Reference

    Author
    Shane Parrish
    Published
    2019
    Category
    Business
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