Mental Models (2018)

Posted by hahahacorn 18 hours ago

Comments

Comment by snasan 6 hours ago

All these mental models are simplified maps of an infinitely complex reality. When we rely on them too heavily, do we risk falling into the trap of mistaking the map for the actual territory? The very tools we use to understand the world can end up shaping and even limiting our perspective. That's why being aware of the limitations of the models themselves is just as important as using them.

Comment by iammjm 3 hours ago

“All perception is gamble” - Robert Anton Wilson / Husserl

Comment by voidhorse 1 hour ago

It's sad to me that people are apparently so allergic to the term "theory" that we had to come up with this lesser version of it. I guess the key difference is that "mental model" might emphasize dynamics more strongly, which is a flaw in my opinion (logical relationship is what matters, whether those relations are static or dynamic).

Comment by alphazard 8 minutes ago

You can blame science communicators for having a fundamental misunderstanding of scientific epistemology. Claiming that theories had been proven true, instead of not yet proven false.

Comment by xtiansimon 1 hour ago

LOL. I was looking for an about link to learn who the author is, but there’s isn’t one. The more I scrolled the more I kept seeing these book covers all with the name. So I guess that stands for “about” link. Cheeky.

But what I really wanted to say, this reminds me of Scott E Page’s Coursera course on Model Thinking, and a book: “The Model Thinker What You Need to Know to Make Data Work for You” also from 2018.

Comment by tim333 38 minutes ago

They seem to be being a bit naughty with the attribution. This is all based of the ideas of Charlie Munger who featured more prominently if you look at an archive version of the same page https://web.archive.org/web/20180215045353/https://fs.blog/m...

A transcript of Charlie's speech is still up https://fs.blog/great-talks/a-lesson-on-worldly-wisdom/

I guess Shane Parrish is trying to carry the torch on now that Charlie has passed.

Comment by hahahacorn 18 hours ago

Previous discussion here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17121145

Always a good read

Comment by dang 18 hours ago

Thanks! Macroexpanded:

Mental Models: The Best Way to Make Intelligent Decisions - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24527003 - Sept 2020 (35 comments)

Mental Models: The Best Way to Make Intelligent Decisions (113 Models Explained) - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17121145 - May 2018 (36 comments)

Comment by dullcrisp 10 hours ago

The version from 2018 seems to have been replaced with an AI-generated copy of itself for whatever reason.

You can use the Wayback Machine to read the version that was originally discussed.

Comment by evrydayhustling 1 hour ago

Thanks for confirming. I liked the clarity of outline but the AI-speak of the prose was really a slog.

Comment by incognito124 16 hours ago

Bought his books, definitely the first time I was exposed to this sort of stuff. Great reads

Comment by aeon_ai 16 hours ago

FS was a major part of me getting into Munger and building out my web of mental models.

Will always be grateful to Shane for that!

Comment by iambateman 15 hours ago

Recommendations of things to read in that vein?

Comment by treetalker 11 hours ago

Books by Peter Bevelin (From Darwin to Munger etc.) or Rolf Dobelli are decent compilations. But mental models are everywhere. Taleb's books have a bunch. But start with what you have in front of you: pick one and actually apply it programmatically, then add to your repertoire one at a time.

Comment by aeon_ai 15 hours ago

The Wit and Wisdom of Charlie Munger is a good place to start.

Shane's mental models books are packed with a lot of random/disparate domains/insights -- He's a good aggregator there.

Thinking in Systems by Meadows.

Really, once you go down the rabbit hole, you find new threads to pull. That's kind of the fun of it

Comment by TOGoS 17 hours ago

My mental model of a website that replaces the content with some 'sign up now' stuff while I'm trying to read it is that it deserves to get closed and never looked-at again.

Comment by piterrro 16 hours ago

My mental model is ignoring people who complain about free stuff

Comment by heliumtera 15 hours ago

Ohhhh it's free! Let's shove it up the arse!!!!

Yeah yeah, like someone is doing charity here.

Comment by iammjm 3 hours ago

True, how free is something really when it’s full of advertisement, trackers and popups