Mental models Flashcards
What is a mental model?
In a way, mental model is the mental representation of our understanding of certain parts of reality. The more our understanding is according to this reality, better we can think about certain domain or more of them.
Mental models are what forms the way we think and base for our reasoning about different topics.
Lack of understanding of the reality leads to bad decisions or blindnes to reality.
Basic concepts of a mental model?
Ramping up on learning.
Learning or forminf a new mental models for certain domain doesn’t have to be complicated.
Most of domains have some core principles which build up more complex elements of the domain by their combinations.
- Start by identifying core principles
- Explore how the core principles can be combined to form a new more complex principle.
Explain the saying:
To the man with only a hammer, everything looks like a nail.
Our world is very complex and one mental model doesn’t cover many scenarios in which we find ourselves every day.
People that have limited number of models in their toolbox can not see the right tool for solving the problem in some other context but try to apply the tools they know.
Having the tools is great, but being able to learn them fast is crucial since that is the only way to grow the mental model list.
Explain:
Cross-pollination effects of mental models.
Knowing lot of mental models helps in seeng the way to apply principles from some other mental model into the situations related with another mental model.
This can be called cross-pollination effect.
Reading as the best way to acquire new models.
Which kind of reading is the most efficient.
Reading is the best way to acquire new models of thinking.
Learning to read in a way that knowledge about the model is getting embedded into the personal knowledge structure is the key to efficient use of reading time.
Models and change.
As reality changes, our models of the world are getting less and less accurate.
Regular revisiting of the models is a must for the reasonable man.
Define:
Two types of mental models
In a loose way, we can separate two types of mental models:
- Mental models that help us evaluate consequences of certain actions before really trying them out in reality.
- Mental models that explain our reasoning and biases we have and which lead as astray from the rational path of correct thinking.
Learning the world outside and learning the world inside.
Explain:
Economy of mental models and ROI vs age of the model.
When spending time to learn the new model, man has to ask what is the ROI on that.
It is most reasonable to think that something that survived 500 years in its basic form is so valuable that benefit of learning it would be great.
Always favor learning the foundation over the trendy new thing that might as well be very short-termed.
Some properties of mental models.
- Mental models are incomplete.
- Mental models are hard to “run”.
- Mental models are unstable.
- Mental models are not clearly shaped with sharp boundaries.
- Mental models are parsimonius, meaning that they are economical to save much more effort if
Learning a model is learning the vocabulary of the domain.
Every domain comes with its own vocabulary. Learning the model means learning, with deep understanding, the vocabulary of the domain and ability to use the vocabulary to explain concepts within the model.
