10+ Best Articles on Mental Models

Discover how the smartest people in the world use a latticework of mental models to make better decisions, avoid problems, and achieve better results.

Learn how to think better with a guide on decision-making frameworks, cognitive biases, mental models, and tools for thought.

«metacognitive skills allow people to bring their thought processes to the foreground, so they can be analysed, and potentially improved.»

Mental models are shortcuts for reasoning. They are a set of ideas and beliefs that we consciously or unconsciously form based on our experiences to shape our representation of how the world works.…

«In scientific research, validity is the extent to which a concept is accurately measured. To put it simply: are we measuring the right thing?»

To avoid pitfalls in group decision-making and problem-solving

«Key Strategy to Avoid this Pitfall: Before a significant change is undertaken, use the “Five Why’s” to determine why the thing to be changed was set up in the first place. This will help drill down to some non-obvious deeper cues about the item in question.»

Starting is hard. Let's face it, not everyone wakes up with a fire in their belly and a hunger for productivity. Some of us need a little extra push to get going, whether it's a cup of coffee, a quick…

«Visualising your desired outcome and focusing on the positive impact of your actions can also provide motivation and increase your internal drive.»

We focus on success stories and ignore silent evidence. And it distorts our reality. Here's how to avoid getting fooled by survivorship bias:

«Look for failures — or as Nassim Taleb calls it silent evidence.»

The present bias is our tendency to seize short-term opportunities, settling for a small present reward rather than waiting for a larger future reward.

«staying mindful of your long-term goals so you don’t fall prey to the dangers of instant gratification»

What better way to learn than to learn about learning? These mental models for learning will help you stay curious and progressing.

«The circle of competence is an essential tool to understanding your limitations. Thus, find the best way to learn and improve your knowledge.»

Tit for tat is a strategy which, according to game theory, is the most effective choice for iterated games based on mutual cooperation or defection.

«Under tit for tat, a player will begin by cooperating, then in subsequent iterations will replicate whatever their opponent did last time.»

Charlie Munger explains how worldly wisdom can help you go further and faster than experts. You don't need to outwork if you can outsmart.

«From each discipline the thoughtful person draws significant mental models, the key ideas that combine to produce a cohesive understanding»

Ten central ideas to keep in mind whenever you need to learn anything new.

«How much you’re able to learn depends on what you already know. Research finds that the amount of knowledge retained from a text depends on prior knowledge of the topic»

The map of reality is not reality. Even the best maps are imperfect. That's because they are reductions of what they represent. If a map were to represent the territory with perfect fidelity, it would…

«A model might show you some risks, but not the risks of using it. Moreover, models are built on a finite set of parameters, while reality affords us infinite sources of risks.»

Update: Since this post came out, I co-authored a book about it called Super Thinking. Get notified about book updates here (currently…

«you can learn through coursework, mentorship, or first-hand experience.»

Charlie Munger's famous lecture on the art of stock picking as a subdivision of the art of worldly wisdom.

«So occasionally, scaling down and intensifying gives you a big advantage. Bigger is not always better.»