The Great Mental Models

Outline

The Great Mental Models (2019) introduces nine general thinking tools that help people make better decisions and see the world more clearly. Shane Parrish and Rhiannon Beaubien explain models such as the map is not the territory, first principles thinking, second-order thinking, probabilistic thinking, and inversion, with examples from history, science, and business. The book shows how using a toolkit of models reduces blind spots and avoids costly mistakes.

• The book presents nine general thinking tools meant to help people make better decisions and see the world more clearly.
• The map is not the territory: a model is only a simplified picture of reality, not reality itself.
• First principles thinking means breaking a problem down to its basic parts instead of reasoning from habit.
• Second-order thinking asks you to look beyond the immediate result of a choice to what follows after it.
• Using a toolkit of several models, not just one, reduces blind spots and helps avoid costly mistakes.

Shane Parrish and Rhiannon Beaubien work together at Farnam Street, a learning community focused on clear thinking and better decisions. Parrish is a Canadian writer and former intelligence officer who founded Farnam Street and hosts the podcast The Knowledge Project. Beaubien is a writer and researcher who co-authored The Great Mental Models series with him.