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Mental Models To Solve Problems

The document discusses nine mental models or thinking tools that can help solve difficult problems. It introduces each model briefly and provides a link to read more about each one. The nine models are: 1) The Map is not the Territory 2) Circle of Competence 3) First Principles Thinking 4) Thought Experiment 5) Second-Order Thinking 6) Probabilistic Thinking 7) Inversion 8) Occam's Razor 9) Hanlon's Razor. The document presents these nine models as general thinking tools that can be learned to improve problem solving abilities.

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Arvind Ahuja
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
249 views

Mental Models To Solve Problems

The document discusses nine mental models or thinking tools that can help solve difficult problems. It introduces each model briefly and provides a link to read more about each one. The nine models are: 1) The Map is not the Territory 2) Circle of Competence 3) First Principles Thinking 4) Thought Experiment 5) Second-Order Thinking 6) Probabilistic Thinking 7) Inversion 8) Occam's Razor 9) Hanlon's Razor. The document presents these nine models as general thinking tools that can be learned to improve problem solving abilities.

Uploaded by

Arvind Ahuja
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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General Thinking Tools: 9 Mental Models to

Solve Difficult Problems


When I came across Charlie Munger’s 1995 Speech, The Psychology of Human Misjudgment, I
realized that I could learn more from him than my MBA. So I spent the next few years reading and
researching about cognitive biases and how we mislead ourselves. Munger showed me that the world
had more to offer than just computer science and business, the two disciplines I’d spent the most
time in. He opened up a world of mental models, which is just a fancy schmancy word that means
thinking tools that you can use to solve problems.

A mental model is simply a representation of how something works. We cannot keep all of the
details of the world in our brains, so we use models to simplify the complex into understandable and
organizable chunks. Whether we realize it or not, we then use these models every day to think,
decide, and understand our world.

While there are millions of mental models, I want to focus on nine that will help you think through
problems better.

1. The Map is not the Territory


The map of reality is not reality. Even the best maps are imperfect. That’s because they are
reductions of what they represent. If a map were to represent the territory with perfect fidelity, it
would no longer be a reduction and thus would no longer be useful to us. A map can also be a
snapshot of a point in time, representing something that no longer exists. This is important to keep
in mind as we think through problems and make better decisions.
Read more about The Map is not the Territory

2. Circle of Competence
When ego and not competence drives what we undertake, we have blind spots. If you know what you
understand, you know where you have an edge over others. When you are honest about where your
knowledge is lacking you know where you are vulnerable and where you can improve.
Understanding your circle of competence improves decision making and outcomes.

Read more about Circle of Competence

3. First Principles Thinking


First principles thinking is one of the best ways to reverse-engineer complicated situations and
unleash creative possibility. Sometimes called reasoning from first principles, it’s a tool to help
clarify complicated problems by separating the underlying ideas or facts from any assumptions
based on them. What remain are the essentials. If you know the first principles of something, you
can build the rest of your knowledge around them to produce something new.

Read more on First Principles Thinking

4. Thought Experiment
Thought experiments can be defined as “devices of the imagination used to investigate the nature of
things.”[1] Many disciplines, such as philosophy and physics, make use of thought experiments to
examine what can be known. In doing so, they can open up new avenues for inquiry and exploration.
Thought experiments are powerful because they help us learn from our mistakes and avoid future
ones. They let us take on the impossible, evaluate the potential consequences of our actions, and re-
examine history to make better decisions. They can help us both figure out what we really want, and
the best way to get there.

Read more on Thought Experiment

5. Second-Order Thinking
Almost everyone can anticipate the immediate results of their actions. This type of first-order
thinking is easy and safe but it’s also a way to ensure you get the same results that everyone else
gets. Second-order thinking is thinking farther ahead and thinking holistically. It requires us to not
only consider our actions and their immediate consequences, but the subsequent effects of those
actions as well. Failing to consider the second and third order effects can unleash disaster.

Read more on Second-Order Thinking

6. Probabilistic Thinking
Probabilistic thinking is essentially trying to estimate, using some tools of math and logic, the
likelihood of any specific outcome coming to pass. It is one of the best tools we have to improve the
accuracy of our decisions. In a world where each moment is determined by an infinitely complex set
of factors, probabilistic thinking helps us identify the most likely outcomes. When we know these
our decisions can be more precise and effective.

Read more on Probabilistic Thinking

7. Inversion
Inversion is a powerful tool to improve your thinking because it helps you identify and remove
obstacles to success. The root of inversion is “invert,” which means to upend or turn upside down.
As a thinking tool, it means approaching a situation from the opposite end of the natural starting
point. Most of us tend to think one way about a problem: forward. Inversion allows us to flip the
problem around and think backward. Sometimes it’s good to start at the beginning, but it can be
more useful to start at the end.

Read more on Inversion

8. Occam’s Razor
Simpler explanations are more likely to be true than complicated ones. This is the essence of
Occam’s Razor, a classic principle of logic and problem-solving. Instead of wasting your time trying
to disprove complex scenarios, you can make decisions more confidently by basing them on the
explanation that has the fewest moving parts.

Read more on Occam’s Razor

9. Hanlon’s Razor
Hard to trace in its origin, Hanlon’s Razor states that we should not attribute to malice that which is
more easily explained by stupidity. In a complex world, using this model helps us avoid paranoia and
ideology. By not generally assuming that bad results are the fault of a bad actor, we look for options
instead of missing opportunities. This model reminds us that people do make mistakes. It demands
that we ask if there is another reasonable explanation for the events that have occurred. The
explanation most likely to be right is the one that contains the least amount of intent.

Read more on Hanlon’s Razor

These general thinking tools are just 9 of the mental models that you can learn.

***

FS Members can discuss this on the Learning Community.

References:

[1] Brown, James Robert and Fehige, Yiftach, “Thought Experiments”, The Stanford Encyclopedia of
Philosophy (Summer 2017 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.). Retrieved from
https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/thought-experiment/

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