Articles I Like: Mental Models – The Best Way to Make Intelligent Decisions (113 Models Explained)
If you’re interested in goals and theory the way I am, then an article about “cross-training for the mind” and different ways of thinking in various disciplines is like catnip. When I saw the article, and that it was going to work through 113 different mental models, I couldn’t NOT click on that bait. In fact, their goal in the article is based on the following:
The overarching goal is to build a powerful “tree” of the mind with strong and deep roots, a massive trunk, and lots of sturdy branches. We use this tree to hang the “leaves” of experience we acquire, directly and vicariously, throughout our lifetimes: the scenarios, decisions, problems, and solutions arising in any human life.
Mental Models: The Best Way to Make Intelligent Decisions (113 Models Explained)
The more mental models you have, the more roots and branches you have to build on. What types of models? How about:
General Thinking Concepts (11)
- Inversion
- Falsification / Confirmation Bias
- Circle of Competence
- The Principle of Parsimony (Occam’s Razor)
- Hanlon’s Razor
- Second-Order Thinking
- The Map Is Not the Territory
- Thought Experiments
- Mr. Market
- Probabilistic Thinking (See also: Numeracy/Bayesian Updating)
- Default Status
Numeracy (14)
- Permutations and Combinations
- Algebraic Equivalence
- Randomness
- Stochastic Processes (Poisson, Markov, Random Walk)
- Compounding
- Multiplying by Zero
- Churn
- Law of Large Numbers
- Bell Curve/Normal Distribution
- Power Laws
- Fat-Tailed Processes (Extremistan)
- Bayesian Updating
- Regression to the Mean
- Order of Magnitude
Systems (22)
- Scale
- Law of Diminishing Returns
- Pareto Principle
- Feedback Loops (and Homeostasis)
- Chaos Dynamics (Sensitivity to Initial Conditions)
- Preferential Attachment (Cumulative Advantage)
- Emergence
- Irreducibility
- Tragedy of the Commons
- Gresham’s Law
- Algorithms
- Fragility – Robustness – Antifragility
- Backup Systems/Redundancy
- Margin of Safety
- Criticality
- Network Effects
- Black Swan
- Via Negativa – Omission/Removal/Avoidance of Harm
- The Lindy Effect
- Renormalization Group
- Spring-loading
- Complex Adaptive Systems
Physical World (9)
- Laws of Thermodynamics
- Reciprocity
- Velocity
- Relativity
- Activation Energy
- Catalysts
- Leverage
- Inertia
- Alloying
The Biological World (15)
- Incentives
- Cooperation (Including Symbiosis)
- Tendency to Minimize Energy Output (Mental & Physical)
- Adaptation
- Evolution by Natural Selection
- The Red Queen Effect (Co-evolutionary Arms Race)
- Replication
- Hierarchical and Other Organizing Instincts
- Self-Preservation Instincts
- Simple Physiological Reward-Seeking
- Exaptation
- Extinction
- Ecosystems
- Niches
- Dunbar’s Number
Human Nature & Judgment (23)
- Trust
- Bias from Incentives
- Pavlovian Mere Association
- Tendency to Feel Envy & Jealousy
- Tendency to Distort Due to Liking/Loving or Disliking/Hating
- Denial
- Availability Heuristic
- Representativeness Heuristic
- Failure to Account for Base Rates
- Tendency to Stereotype
- Failure to See False Conjunctions
- Social Proof (Safety in Numbers)
- Narrative Instinct
- Curiosity Instinct
- Language Instinct
- First-Conclusion Bias
- Tendency to Overgeneralize from Small Samples
- Relative Satisfaction/Misery Tendencies
- Commitment & Consistency Bias
- Hindsight Bias
- Sensitivity to Fairness
- Tendency to Overestimate Consistency of Behavior (Fundamental Attribution Error)
- Influence of Authority
- Influence of Stress (Including Breaking Points)
- Survivorship Bias
- Tendency to Want to Do Something (Fight/Flight, Intervention, Demonstration of Value, etc.)
Microeconomics & Strategy (14)
- Opportunity Costs
- Creative Destruction
- Comparative Advantage
- Specialization (Pin Factory)
- Seizing the Middle
- Trademarks, Patents, and Copyrights
- Double-Entry Bookkeeping
- Utility (Marginal, Diminishing, Increasing)
- Bottlenecks
- Prisoner’s Dilemma
- Bribery
- Arbitrage
- Supply and Demand
- Scarcity
Military & War (5)
- Seeing the Front
- Asymmetric Warfare
- Two-Front War
- Counterinsurgency
- Mutually Assured Destruction
The article has lots of links to the models to explain them. It’s like a treasure-trove of mental improvement rabbit-holes. And perhaps the grounds for 113 new blog posts by me as I work through each of them! Mind-blowing.
