Episode 14: Why the Smartest People Use Mental Models

Focus on building your health, wealth, and relationships to improve your life. It's often a gap in knowledge or an inability to communicate that causes problems in these areas. Mental models are a way to improve both.

Imagine being able to have a productive, enlightening discussion with friends and family. A debate where everyone understands and accepts that differences of opinion exist. And those differences are a feature, not a bug, of a vibrant, rational world.

Or, imagine looking at yourself in the mirror. And in your reflection, you see a confident person—someone who knows that they're making the best decisions possible. You're free from worry and second-guessing. And you know that if something terrible happens, you'll stand up and deal with it with the calm and control of James Bond.

That's the power of a mental model.

In this episode of Mentally Unscripted, Paul and Scott discuss their top mental models.

You'll notice that Scott's mental models are foundational principles. As such, they're helpful in many situations. Paul's, meanwhile, are less ubiquitous but more powerful. You may not use them as often, but they pack more of a punch.

After listening to this episode, you'll understand the power of mental models.

What did you think of our mental models? Agree with our choices or disagree? Any mental models you think we missed? Let us know in the comments.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

Thinking Fast and SlowHarrison Bergeron

Mental models, biases, and fallacies mentioned in this episode:

Confirmation biasFundamental attribution errorFalse consensus effectIllusion of controlUnintended consequencesEntropyInertiaSystem 1 / system 2 thinkingSecond-order thinkingOpportunity costs

Image by Tumisu from Pixabay