The Great Mental Models
in the US, available around the world for the first time, The Great Mental Models introduces the simple tools we all need to see the world clearly. Time and time again, great thinkers like Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger have credited their success to mental models: simple representations of how the world works that can be applied in a wide array of contexts. Mastering a small number of these concepts enables you to rapidly grasp new information, identify patterns others don't, and better anticipate outcomes. The Great Mental Models introduces the most powerful models that anyone can use right away to improve decision making and productivity. In this volume, Shane Parrish introduces the universal concepts that underpin better thinking, including: Occam's Razor: When faced with competing hypotheses, the simplest explanation is often the best one. Circle of competence: We operate optimally in the territory we know best and the quality of our thinking decreases as we venture too far outside our areas of expertise. Inversion: To invert a problem is to think about it in reverse, and thereby work out what not to do in response. Building a latticework of mental models is one of the most powerful things you can do to become a better thinker, leader, or creator. The Great Mental Models is the accessible guide you need to unlock this ability.
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- Are you looking for something like HWPh[0] (Historical dictionary of philosophy), a 30+ years effort to explain the conceptual history of every philosophical term?
There's also a smaller series, like Great Mental Models[1], specifically targeting "abstract concepts" in an approachable manner.
Otherwise, mathematics is still the dominant language for expressing abstract concepts.
> But there are many words that don't, many symbols that don't, many different words used to describe the same concept, or words that refer to different concepts (depending on context).
I can recommend In the Land of Invented Languages[2] for a quick and entertaining introduction to the difficulty of constructing a "universal" language. Also Gödel, Escher, Bach[3] discusses the differences of meaning and interpretation (in formal systems), which might be relevant to your interest.
[0]: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Historisches_W%C3%B6rterbuch_d...
[2]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_the_Land_of_Invented_Langua...
- + I suggest books from Shane Parrish – The Great Mental Models, which are exactly about solving all or at least many problems by using several (80-90) mental models.
- I have been working on this for a long time now. It helped me achieve small success in writing(My articles gained some attention and ended up publishing a book with packt). I am still a beginner, long way to become a good model thinker.
Here are a few books, I recommend.
1.The Great Mental Models : General Thinking Concepts (Beginner Level)
2.Super Thinking (Intermediate)
3.The Model Thinker (Intermediate-Advanced, you can also take the coursera MOOC "Model Thinking" by the same author)
I am also working on a tool to assit people in thinking with models. If anyone is interested to try out the beta, you can signup here. https://forms.gle/xn9mESKZwUMD2y6RA I am hoping to release it next week.
Here are a few screenshots of the tool I am building. (Note: It's in MVP stage, not a finished product)
- * Poor Charlie's Almanack: The Wit and Wisdom of Charles T. Munger
* Seeking Wisdom: From Darwin to Munger
* The Model Thinker: What You Need to Know to Make Data Work for You
* The Great Mental Models
- I would recommend Poor Charlie's Almanack by Charlie Munger and these following two books:
The Model Thinker: What You Need to Know to Make Data Work for You by Scott Page
https://www.amazon.com/Model-Thinker-What-Need-Know/dp/04650... and
The Great Mental Models: General Thinking Concepts by Shane Parrish
https://www.amazon.com/Great-Mental-Models-Thinking-Concepts...
- Warning: opening a can of worms. Ann Blair is a great source on general, but there are so many facets to this topic here's a list that I have read or am going to read.
* The Notebook: A History of Thinking on Paper by Roland Allen * The Carrier Bag Theory of Fiction by Ursula K. Le Guin * Too Much To Know: Managing Scholarly Information Before the Modern Age by Ann M. Blair * Communicating with Slip Boxes: An Empirical Account by Niklas Luhmann * Akin's Laws of Spacecraft Design * Writing the Laboratory Notebook by Howard M Kanare * Paper Machines: About Cards & Catalogs by Markus Krajewski * A System for Writing by Bob Doto * Building a Second Brain By Tiago Forte * Index, a History of the by Dennis Duncan * Forgetting Machines: Knowledge Management Evolution in Early Modern Europe by Alberto Cevolini * The Filing Cabinet: A Vertical History of Information by Craig Robertson * How to Take Smart Notes by Sonke Ahrens * Filing and Database Systems by Jeffrey Robert Stewart, Judith A. Scharle, Judith Scharle Greene * Organizing from the Inside Out by Julie Morgenstern * The Library: A Fragile History by Andrew Pettegree, Arthur der Weduwen * The Extended Mind by Annie Murphy Paul * Stolen Focus: Why You Can't Pay Attention by Johann Hari * Papyrus: The Invention of Books in the Ancient World by Irene Vallejo * Filing by Jeffrey Robert Stewart, Judith A. Scharle * How Romantics and Victorians Organized Information by Jillian M. Hess * A Writer's Notebook by W. Somerset Maugham * The Bullet Journal Method by Ryder Carroll * The Medieval Scriptorium by Sara J. Charles * Chance Particulars by Sara Mansfield Taber, Maud Taber-Thomas * The Great Mental Models Volume 1- General Thinking Concepts by Parrish, Shane; Beaubien, Rhiannon * The Product is Docs by Christopher Gales * Antinet Zettelkasten by Scott P. Scheper Articulating design decisions by Tom Greever The Card System at the Office by J Kaiser * Systematic Indexing by J Kaiser * Commonplace Books and the Teaching of Style by Lynee Lewis Gaillet * Magic and hypersystems : constructing the information-sharing library by Harold Billings. * The Magical Number Seven, Plus or Minus Two: Some Limits on our Capacity for Processing Information by George A. Miller * The Commonplace Book by Elizabeth Smither * The Oxford Handbook of Expertise * Trees, maps, and theorems: Effective communication for rational minds by Jean-luc Doumont * Applied Secretarial Practice by Rupert P. Sorelle and John Robert Gregg * The Card Catalog by Carla Hayden * What is a Document by Michael Buckland * The Commonplace Book by Ann Blair * Make Better Documents by Anil Dash * A Core Calculus for Documents by Will Crichton and Shriram Krishnamurthi * The Craft of Research by Wayne C. Booth, Gregory G. Colomb, Joseph M. Williams * Information by Anthony Grafton * The Card Catalog by Carla Hayden * Files: Law and Media Technology by Cornelia Vismann * Living Documentation: Continuous Knowledge by Cyrille Martraire * Living in Information by Jorge Arango * How to Write a Technical Paper: Structure and Style of the Epitome of your Research† by Georgios Varsamopoulos * Information Development: Managing Your Documentation Projects, Portfolio, and People by JoAnn T. Hackos * Information Architecture: For the Web and Beyond by Louis Rosenfeld, Peter Morville, Jorge Arango * Software Technical Writing: A Guidebook by James (jamesg.blog)
