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Mental Models: 30 Tools To Master Logic And Productivity
Have you ever wondered what separates the most successful people from the rest of us? Is it superior genetics, or better education? Not at all! The real reason some people are able to reach top levels of performance is their reliance on mental models. They have learned and integrated systematic thinking into their own mental toolbox. They can leverage these models to produce better than average results. A mental model is just a simplified way of looking at a more complex problem. It allows you to more easily understand and reach an accurate conclusion. You may not be aware, but you use models every day. A map is an example of a model that most people understand. When you leave your house to go to work you don’t need to constantly consult written directions, you have internalized the map. You have a mental model of how to get to work. This saves you time and simplifies your life. Now imagine being able to internalize mental models for different and more complex types of problems. Author, Kevin Wagonfoot, covers 30 mental models that you can use to improve any facet of your life. The book is broken down into eight chapters, each containing several relevant models. Chapters MakingDealing With OthersUnderstandingCreativityReasoningNegotiatingLearningWorkingWhile there are literally thousands of different mental models out there, this book serves as a guide to understanding some of the most basic and broadly applied models. If you have ever wanted to streamline your thought process, increase your mental horsepower, or just simplify your life... Buy this Book Today!
90 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 9, 2018
357 people are currently reading
215 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews
April 5, 2019
Review
The book is great and I love how the mental models are organized by section and are easily explained. More importantly the PDF provided makes it easier to follow.
The book is great and I love how the mental models are organized by section and are easily explained. More importantly the PDF provided makes it easier to follow.
October 15, 2018
I was introduced to this author through his previous book, Anti-Goals, which outlined the power of inversion. Instead of trying to achieve a difficult goal, establish goals of avoidance that lead to the same result. It’s often easier to avoid contributing factors than it is to swallow the whole challenge all at once.
Before opening this book I didn’t quite see how Mental Models would fit in. But it does. Goal-setting, or Anti-Goal-setting, in Kevin’s world, is modeling, and that is ultimately what this book is all about, on an expanded scale, but with the same focus and brevity of Anti-Goals.
As Kevin defines it, “A model is an abstraction and/or simplification of a system.” “Each model is a simplified version of some aspect of reality we want to learn more about.” “The real beauty of understanding various models is that they allow you to simplify and understand more complex systems and concepts.”
And, in fact, models are not optional. We all employ them, consciously or not. There is just too much data in our lives, and too many decisions that need to be made, not to. Through simplification, models allow us to make decisions more effectively and more efficiently.
Kevin outlines 30 models here, out of the near-infinite number available, not all of which have been articulated yet. To me they all fall into two categories: sound rules of thumb and traps to avoid. The former, like Occam’s Razor, help to recognize what’s really important and more often than not true. The second, like Loss Aversion and Risk Aversion, help us to avoid the traps that we naturally fall into because of how we naturally process information.
It’s a very quick read (and a great value). Each of the models could have an entire book devoted to it and many of them have. The beauty of Kevin’s work is that he distills the potentially complex down to the simple by distilling out the essential from the residue.
As a result of that, you might even use this book to distill out models for further study that are of particular application in your life, work, or study.
We all employ decision models. This book will help you understand and apply some of the most effective. It’s not a literary masterpiece or an historical magnum opus, but it is a handy guide to getting through the day and achieving your goals.
Before opening this book I didn’t quite see how Mental Models would fit in. But it does. Goal-setting, or Anti-Goal-setting, in Kevin’s world, is modeling, and that is ultimately what this book is all about, on an expanded scale, but with the same focus and brevity of Anti-Goals.
As Kevin defines it, “A model is an abstraction and/or simplification of a system.” “Each model is a simplified version of some aspect of reality we want to learn more about.” “The real beauty of understanding various models is that they allow you to simplify and understand more complex systems and concepts.”
And, in fact, models are not optional. We all employ them, consciously or not. There is just too much data in our lives, and too many decisions that need to be made, not to. Through simplification, models allow us to make decisions more effectively and more efficiently.
Kevin outlines 30 models here, out of the near-infinite number available, not all of which have been articulated yet. To me they all fall into two categories: sound rules of thumb and traps to avoid. The former, like Occam’s Razor, help to recognize what’s really important and more often than not true. The second, like Loss Aversion and Risk Aversion, help us to avoid the traps that we naturally fall into because of how we naturally process information.
It’s a very quick read (and a great value). Each of the models could have an entire book devoted to it and many of them have. The beauty of Kevin’s work is that he distills the potentially complex down to the simple by distilling out the essential from the residue.
As a result of that, you might even use this book to distill out models for further study that are of particular application in your life, work, or study.
We all employ decision models. This book will help you understand and apply some of the most effective. It’s not a literary masterpiece or an historical magnum opus, but it is a handy guide to getting through the day and achieving your goals.
December 14, 2018
Can't say I was wowed as I knew literally every model already - but then again thats the point of picking up books and reading them i the hope you uncover something new.
Whether you know the models already or not, its a good way to learn and refresh and the book is structured as 30 simple and quick to read models, so no real excuse for not reading it!
Whether you know the models already or not, its a good way to learn and refresh and the book is structured as 30 simple and quick to read models, so no real excuse for not reading it!
May 20, 2019
to the point unlike most self help books. No fillers and provides a good overview of the most commonly used mental models. Definitely worth a reread.
June 1, 2020
Ideas are for sharing
I love this book as it gives us an overview with necessary insights about the mental templates that we may use in our daily lives and can yield the desired outcome while using it wisely. Moreover i would like to add that author of this book had extracted lots of tools and techniques from some of the famous authors of famous books but like the author says in book that creativity also lies in substraction and represent information with different perspectives and experiences. I think he had done a excellent job !
I love this book as it gives us an overview with necessary insights about the mental templates that we may use in our daily lives and can yield the desired outcome while using it wisely. Moreover i would like to add that author of this book had extracted lots of tools and techniques from some of the famous authors of famous books but like the author says in book that creativity also lies in substraction and represent information with different perspectives and experiences. I think he had done a excellent job !
June 21, 2020
Good starting point to understand mental models
Starting was okay but then I started taking interest in this book, this Book is short and to the point description of mental models, Book lacks depth but looks like depth is not intention of the Book, mental model is vast subject and there are many Books available in market, this book could be a good starting point for anyone who wants to get an idea about mental models, contents of the Book justifies it's size and cost so rating 4 🌟
Starting was okay but then I started taking interest in this book, this Book is short and to the point description of mental models, Book lacks depth but looks like depth is not intention of the Book, mental model is vast subject and there are many Books available in market, this book could be a good starting point for anyone who wants to get an idea about mental models, contents of the Book justifies it's size and cost so rating 4 🌟
November 10, 2019
The book has a collection of good mental models and for ease of remembering the author has segregated them into chapters that are relevant for all professional areas like decision making, learning etc.
Had the author also written about the ways he had used these mental models or how others have used them, it would definitely enhanced the understanding of the concepts and their applicability in real life - the purpose anyone reads books like these.
Had the author also written about the ways he had used these mental models or how others have used them, it would definitely enhanced the understanding of the concepts and their applicability in real life - the purpose anyone reads books like these.
December 29, 2019
Recommended for middle or high school students. A brisk run through of the most popular mental models of our time such as Occam's razor and Murphy's law broken down into categories like decision-making and negotiating.
If you've been around the block, you may not learn anything new, but it's an efficient refresher.
If you've been around the block, you may not learn anything new, but it's an efficient refresher.
April 23, 2020
More like a summary from a web article
This book will give you intro to this topic and will leave a path infront of you to explore and go on. This books lacks on theory and evolution of principles and is more like a web article and lacks a research behind these topics.
Overall this is just a intro and will require further reading and reference books
This book will give you intro to this topic and will leave a path infront of you to explore and go on. This books lacks on theory and evolution of principles and is more like a web article and lacks a research behind these topics.
Overall this is just a intro and will require further reading and reference books
October 8, 2021
Focus read
Book is great to read to understand some common sense which generally not so common in applying in real lifestyle. There are too many concepts which is hard to understand at first read. So might this require to turnaround the pages for some repetition to fix in head on the tactics and strategies to be applied.
Book is great to read to understand some common sense which generally not so common in applying in real lifestyle. There are too many concepts which is hard to understand at first read. So might this require to turnaround the pages for some repetition to fix in head on the tactics and strategies to be applied.
February 13, 2019
The Models Are Spot On!
The title caught my attention and I had to make the purchase. As I read through the models I found so many ways to be able to apply them. The timing of this read couldn’t have been better. Many thanks for sharing your work Kevin!
The title caught my attention and I had to make the purchase. As I read through the models I found so many ways to be able to apply them. The timing of this read couldn’t have been better. Many thanks for sharing your work Kevin!
March 4, 2019
Very well partitioned
The read became much easier and easy to remember because of the way it's been broken down by the author. I really enjoyed the book and definitely look forward to leveraging the examples in here at work.
The read became much easier and easy to remember because of the way it's been broken down by the author. I really enjoyed the book and definitely look forward to leveraging the examples in here at work.
June 2, 2019
An interesting intro to mental models
An interesting introduction to mental models. The chapters have just the right lengths. If you sign up for the authors newsletter, you get a summary PDF in return.
An interesting introduction to mental models. The chapters have just the right lengths. If you sign up for the authors newsletter, you get a summary PDF in return.
August 28, 2019
Simple and precise.
Kevin Wagonfoot's book on Mental Models are broken in 8 major areas and he has mental models for each of them. The explanation and the examples provided are simple enough to understand them quicker.
Kevin Wagonfoot's book on Mental Models are broken in 8 major areas and he has mental models for each of them. The explanation and the examples provided are simple enough to understand them quicker.
November 8, 2019
Short and useless. Avoid if you are looking for mental models for system thinking. Riddled with grammatical mistakes and bad editing. Tries to cover too much in a small book and ends up delivering a hodge-podge of a few models and some cognitive biases.
September 4, 2020
Lots of recap
Gathered together well covered and readily available material, and then organised the content into chapters. There should be a lot of people that haven't been exposed to the ideas, and it would be useful for then.
Gathered together well covered and readily available material, and then organised the content into chapters. There should be a lot of people that haven't been exposed to the ideas, and it would be useful for then.
February 8, 2021
'Model' in the mind
An experience based book which derives it's source from multiple domains to deliver a killer punch to the overall thought process.
A read for someone who thinks learning is essential to growing!!
An experience based book which derives it's source from multiple domains to deliver a killer punch to the overall thought process.
A read for someone who thinks learning is essential to growing!!
December 15, 2018
Great book
Good information. Great models.. Easy to read. Entertaining. A good stepping stone towards a better understanding about how the world works.
Good information. Great models.. Easy to read. Entertaining. A good stepping stone towards a better understanding about how the world works.
May 2, 2019
I would have !liked more real life experience added it was a very interesting subject.
June 23, 2019
Great book to get introduced to Mental Models.
August 14, 2019
Worth a read
I see myself using some in my life, if not all of the models mentioned in the book. Definitely gives a perspective that usually goes unnoticed
I see myself using some in my life, if not all of the models mentioned in the book. Definitely gives a perspective that usually goes unnoticed
September 22, 2019
Good short read
Didn't expect a shorter read like this on this subject to be so good. No disappointment with the book. Good summaries
Didn't expect a shorter read like this on this subject to be so good. No disappointment with the book. Good summaries
December 6, 2019
Good introduction to Mental models
4 stars only cause it don't have enough sources or references. Concise and interesting book otherwise, really easy to read, well written
4 stars only cause it don't have enough sources or references. Concise and interesting book otherwise, really easy to read, well written
August 23, 2020
Good starter in mental models
If you want to know about mental models this is the book to start to learn the subject. Easy and fast to read.
If you want to know about mental models this is the book to start to learn the subject. Easy and fast to read.
March 17, 2021
Thought Provoking Read
This book made me think about ways of thinking in new refreshing ways. Definitely worth my time. I recommend it,
This book made me think about ways of thinking in new refreshing ways. Definitely worth my time. I recommend it,
March 17, 2019
30 great models and 0 fluff in writing
Love it when someone packs tons of wisdom with 0 fluff. Sadly, Amazon requires me to add more filler words to post.
Love it when someone packs tons of wisdom with 0 fluff. Sadly, Amazon requires me to add more filler words to post.
May 15, 2021
It was a collection of models which one knowingly or unknowingly uses in every day world. I liked the fact that there were plenty of models which one could know and understand and author has avoid giving lot of details. So in a nutshell it's a good book for someone who is interested to know brief on models.
Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews