Learning mental models and identifying cognitive bias help thinking more clearly and thus living a better life. # How to use the following document - Among the resources below, there is some repetition. However, this is not an issue, because it takes a while before digesting any of the mental models that exists. - Recommendations: - Do 30 min readings while in shape, and gradually work your way down. It's better to do a few less readings, but take your time to understand them. - Don't hesitate to take breaks while reading, and look for examples in your daily life to see how these concepts apply. - There are certainly several phases in this learning process: 1. Discovering & familiarizing ourselves with new concepts. 2. The next stage is that of the young kid/adult who has just acquired a new hammer and everything is starting to look like a nail. We want to apply these ways of thinking to all situations all the time, using complicated terms to talk about these ways of thinking. 3. Gradually, the step that comes after is to make them our own, to detach ourselves from each model of thinking, to understand their limits and the interactions between these different ideas. And when faced with a situation, to see everything that applies, up to what limit and why. And to combine the concepts with each other. 4. There are no limits after that. # Mental models & Cognitive bias - Good list of mental models: [Mental Models: The Best Way to Make Intelligent Decisions (~100 Models Explained)](https://fs.blog/mental-models/) - Infography - ![[Mental models - Cognitive bias.png]] - [Twenty-Five Useful Thinking Tools - Scott H Young](https://www.scotthyoung.com/blog/2018/12/04/25-thinking-tools/) 1. Artist: What if Creativity Were the Priority? 2. Economist: How Do People React to Incentives? 3. Engineer: Can I Model This and Calculate? 4. Entrepreneur: Do a Lot of Things; See What Works 5. Doctor: What’s the Diagnosis? 6. Journalist: Just the Facts 7. Scientist: Make a Hypothesis and Test It 8. Mathematician: You Don’t Know Until You Can Prove It 9. Programmer: What’s the Pattern I Can Automate? 10. Architect: Envisioning the Future 11. Salesperson: Understand Their Minds Better than They Do 12. Soldier: Routine and Discipline Prevent Deadly Mistakes 13. Chess Master: See The Moves In Your Mind’s Eye 14. Designer: The Things You Make Communicate For You 15. Teacher: Can You See What it is Like Not to Know Something Obvious? 16. Anthropologist: Can You Immerse and Join Another Culture? 17. Psychologist: Test Your Understanding of Other People 18. Critic: Can You Build on The Work of Others? 19. Philosopher: What are the Unexpected Consequences of an Intuition? 20. Accountant: Watch the Ratios - [50 Ideas That Changed My Life - David Perell](https://perell.com/essay/50-ideas-that-changed-my-life/) - Great list of mental models: [[2023 Article - 50 Ideas that changed my life.pdf]] - Another good list of mental models: - [[mental-model-master-list.pdf]] - Good mental model on expressing love: [[5 languages of love]] # Mental razors - [Mental Razors - by Sahil Bloom - The Curiosity Chronicle](https://sahilbloom.substack.com/p/mental-razors) - The ELI5 Razor - Complexity and jargon are often used to mask a lack of true understanding. - Munger’s Rule of Opinions - “I never allow myself to have an opinion on anything that I don’t know the other side’s argument better than they do.” - Charlie Munger - The Taleb “Look the Part” Razor - If forced to choose between two options of seemingly equal merit, choose the one that doesn’t look the part. The one who doesn’t look the part has had to overcome much more to achieve its status than the one who fit in perfectly. - [[Regret-minimization framework]] - The Boaster’s Razor - Truly successful people rarely feel the need to boast about their success. If someone regularly boasts about their income, wealth, or success, it’s fair to assume the reality is a fraction of what they claim. - The Steve Jobs Quality Razor - When building, take pride in carrying the quality all the way through. Would you be proud for your work to be seen from every angle and perspective? If not, keep working. - Buffett’s Rule of Holes - “The most important thing to do if you find yourself in a hole is to stop digging." - Warren Buffett - The Paul Graham Crazy Idea Razor - If someone proposes a crazy idea, ask: - 1. Are they a domain expert? - 2. Do I know them to be reasonable? - If yes on (1) and (2), you should take the idea seriously, as it may be an asymmetric bet on the future. - The Circle of Competence - Be ruthless in identifying your circle of competence (and its boundaries). When faced with a big decision, ask yourself whether you are qualified to handle it given your circle. If yes, proceed. If no, outsource it to someone who is. - The Duck Test - If it looks like a duck, swims like a duck, and quacks like a duck, it’s probably a duck. You can determine a lot about a person by regularly observing their habitual characteristics. - Buffett’s Juicy Pitch - Life doesn’t reward you for the number of swings you take. Slow down and focus on identifying the juiciest pitch. When it comes, swing hard and don’t miss it. - Occam’s Razor - The simplest explanation is often the best one. Simple assumptions > complex assumptions. - The Buffett Reputation Razor - “It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you'll do things differently.” - Warren Buffett - Hanlon’s Razor - Never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by stupidity. - Machiavelli’s Razor - A simple modification of Hanlon’s Razor: - Never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by self-interest. - Newton’s Flaming Laser Sword - If something cannot be settled by experiment or observation, it is not worth debating. - Hitchens’ Razor - What can be asserted without evidence can also be dismissed without evidence. The burden of proof regarding a claim lies with the one who makes the claim. If unmet, no argument is required to dismiss it. - Sagan’s Standard - The more crazy and outrageous the claim, the more crazy and outrageous the body of evidence must be in order to prove it. - The Naval Reading Razor - When deciding what to read, just read whatever you love. Avoid the trap of only reading “impressive” or “smart” books that bore you to death. Never establish vanity metrics (e.g. # of books) as goals. - The Eisenhower Decision Matrix - The Steve Jobs Settling Razor - “The only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle.” - Steve Jobs - [Tools for Systems Thinkers: The 6 Fundamental Concepts of Systems Thinking | by Leyla Acaroglu | Disruptive Design | Medium](https://medium.com/disruptive-design/tools-for-systems-thinkers-the-6-fundamental-concepts-of-systems-thinking-379cdac3dc6a) - Interconnectedness - Synthesis - Emergence - Feedback loops - Causality - Systems Mapping - [13 Mental Models Every Founder Should Know -- The Mission -- Medium](https://medium.com/the-mission/13-mental-models-every-founder-should-know-c4d44afdcdd) - [3 Decision-Making Models Used by Warren Buffett and Jeff Bezos | Inc.com](https://www.inc.com/sean-kim/how-warren-buffett-and-jeff-bezos-make-smarter-decisions.html) - [Mental model examples: How to actually use them | Elon Musk](https://www.julian.com/blog/mental-model-examples) - First Principles in practice - One Level Higher — Repeatedly ask whether you’re optimizing a cog in a machine instead of the machine itself. The higher the level you optimize at, typically the greater your ROI. - Pareto Principle — 80% of your output will come from the top 20% of your inputs. To maximize ROI, preferentially invest in the 20%. - [Mental Models: Learn How to Think Better and Gain a Mental Edge](https://jamesclear.com/mental-models) - [(Estimations à la Fermi) On Humility and Making Better Decisions](https://tomtunguz.com/on-humility-and-making-better-decisions/) - [Mental Models I Find Repeatedly Useful -- Gabriel Weinberg -- Medium](https://medium.com/@yegg/mental-models-i-find-repeatedly-useful-936f1cc405d)