What Are Mental Models?
A mental model is a simplified explanation of how something works.
Any idea, belief, or concept can be boiled down to its essence. Like a map, mental models highlight key information while ignoring irrelevant details. They’re tools for compressing complexity into manageable chunks.
Mental models help us understand the world. For example, velocity shows that both speed and direction matter. Reciprocity reveals how being positive and taking initiative gets the world to do most of the work for you. Margin of Safety reminds us that things don’t always go as planned. Relativity exposes our blind spots and shows how a different perspective can reveal new information. These are just a few examples.
If you want to be a good thinker, you must develop a mind that can jump the jurisdictional boundaries. You don’t have to know it all. Just take in the best big ideas from all these disciplines. And it’s not that hard to do. Charlie Munger
The Big Ideas From The Big Disciplines
This page summarizes the big ideas to help you make better decisions, avoid problems, and spot opportunities others miss.
The Map is Not the Territory
The map is not the territory reminds us that our mental models of the world are not the same as the world itself. It cautions against confusing our abstractions and representations with the complex, ever-shifting reality they aim to describe.
It is dangerous to mistake the map for the territory. Consider the person with an outstanding résumé who checks all the boxes on paper but can’t do the job.
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