Tools for Thinking Better
You don't need to master every detail of every subject to become world-class thinker.
If you can master the fundamentals of each discipline, then you can develop a remarkably accurate and useful picture of life.
Mental Models: Out of Box Thinking
Mental models are the various thinking frameworks that are used to understand life, make decisions, and solve problems.
Just raw intelligence is not enough to solve problems. A different or a broader set of mental models can provide a different view of a problem, leading to an unconventional, new solution not thought of before.
Mental Models: Examples
A mental model is an exploration of how something works. They are beliefs, worldviews or frameworks of thinking in you to arrive at a solution to a problem.
Some examples:
Demand and Supply: To understand the economy
Game Theory: To understand trust and relationships
Entropy: to understand disorder and decay
"Scientist generally agree that no theory is 100 percent correct. Thus, the real test of knowledge is not truth, but utility."
Different perspective
Each individual mental model is just one view of reality. The challenges and situations we face in life cannot be entirely by one field or industry.
All perspectives hold some truth. None of them contain the complete truth.
"All the wisdom of world is not to be found in one little academic department."
Liquefy all your knowledge
Develop "Liquid knowledge" that flows easily from one topic to the next.
Instead of separating knowledge into different sections, isolating it, we are better off expanding, merging and liquefying the knowledge.
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