A book to return to
The Great Mental Models
The main takeaway
A useful model makes part of a situation clearer; several models can broaden the picture.
The short summary
A mental model is a simplified explanation of how something works. This series gathers models from reasoning, natural science, systems, mathematics, economics and art. Its aim is to expand the tools available when facing a decision. Different models draw attention to different features, such as constraints, feedback, uncertainty and the effects that follow an initial choice.
One idea at a time
Key takeaways.
Idea 1
Use several useful views
Looking through more than one model can reveal features that a single familiar explanation leaves outside your attention.
Idea 2
Return to basic facts
First-principles thinking breaks a problem into fundamental facts, then uses those foundations to examine possible ways forward carefully.
Idea 3
Follow the later effects
Second-order thinking traces what may happen after an initial result, bringing delayed effects and connected people into the decision.
An everyday example
A busy café
A café considers adding more tables. Capacity suggests extra sales; bottlenecks reveal a crowded kitchen; feedback highlights longer waits. Looking through all three models changes how the owner evaluates the idea.
Sources and credits
Ideas credited to Shane Parrish and Rhiannon Beaubien; Rosie Leizrowice also co-authors Volume 3. This page uses original wording and an original everyday example.
Models simplify situations and have boundaries. Applying an analogy across disciplines requires checking the details and evidence in the case.
Farnam Street: The Great Mental Models series Penguin Random House: Volume 1 excerpt and series authorship