Big fat list of Mental Models A large list of mental models Jul 5, 2020 Last updated: Jul 5, 2020 Table of Contents This is a collection of mental models I've read about. Makes for a good reference for the times I'm always stuck in Déjà vu , thinking "what's the term?". I will grow, evolve and categorize this list largely trying to understand / answer "what can I do to minimize negative externalities?", a meta-mental model for decision making in life.
This is a fat list and the purpose is not to memorize these. Instead, consciously aiming to learn them, utilize them as much as possible to fit things happening around into a model. This is reductive and simplifying, but that is precisely what models are for - to allow us focus on things that matter without the unnecessary details.
We don’t become better at things we do – we become better at things we pay attention to while we’re doing them
Uncategorized List
Inverse Thinking - be wrong less
Arguing from first principles Minimum Viable Product
de-risking - weed out untrue assumptions
premature optimization
Occam's razor - as simple as it can be, but no simpler
conjunction fallacy - latching on to unnecessary assumptions
overfitting
Frame of Reference
framing
nudging
anchoring
Availability Bias
filter bubble
echo chambers
The Third Story
most respectful interpretation - benefit of the doubt
Hanlon's razor - malice vs carelessness
fundamental attribution error
self-serving bias
veil of ignorance
Birth lottery
just world hypothesis
victim-blame
learned helplessness
Paradigm Shift
Semmelweis reflex
confirmation bias
backfire effect
disconfirmation bias
cognitive dissonance
thinking gray
Devil's advocate position
Intuition
proximate cause
root cause
optimistic probability bias
Tyranny of small decisions - "death by a thousand cuts"
tragedy of the commons
public goods
herd immunity
Externalities (internalizing negative externalities )
spillover effects
Coase theorem - "property rights, rational actors, low transaction costs"
cap-and-trade
Asymmetric information
Moral Hazard
Principal-agent problem
adverse selection
Market failure
government / political failure
Goodhart's law
perverse incentives
cobra effect
Sreisand effect
hydra effect
Observer effect
chilling effect
collateral damage
blowback
Boiling frog
short-termism
technical debt
path dependence
Preserving optionality
Hick's law
Information overload
analysis paralysis
perfect is the enemy of good
reversible / irreversible decisions
paradox of choice
decision fatigue
Murphy's law North star Compound interest Two-front wars
Opportunity cost
opportunity cost of capital
best alternative to negotiated agreement
Leverage
Pareto principle
power law distribution
Learning curve effect Law of diminishing returns
Law of diminishing utility
negative returns
burnout
Present bias
net present value
hyperbolic discounting
Default effect - path of least resistance Parkinson's Law Hofstadter's Law Loss aversion
Design pattern
anti-pattern
brute force
heuristic
black boxes
parallel processing
divide and conquer
Economies of scale Reframe the problem Natural selection Scientific method Inertia
strategy tax
Shirky principle
Lindy effect
Momentum
catalyst
forcing function
activation energy
flywheel
Homeostasis
Hysteresis Critical mass
tipping point
chain reaction
Technology adoption lifecycle - innovators, early adopters, early majority, late majority, laggards Metcalfe's law
Butterfly effect
luck surface area
entropy
Black-and-white fallacy
in-group favoritism
out-group bias
zero-sum
win-win
Grass-is-greener mentality Maslow's hammer Cost-benefit analysis
Garbage in, garbage out Utilitarianism Black swan events Systems thinking Unknown unknowns Counterfactual thinking Lateral thinking Groupthink
Divergent thinking
Crowdsourcing Game theory
arms Race
prisoner's dilemma
Nash equilibrium
influence models
reciprocity
commitment
liking
social proof
scarcity
authority
Social norms vs market norms Ultimatum game
distributive / procedural justice
fair share / share
appeal to emotion
FUD - fear, uncertainty, doubt straw man
Trojan horse
bait and switch
Potemkin village
Mutually assured destruction
Domino effect
slippery slope argument
broken windows theory
gateway drug theory
Loss leader strategy
Red line
nuclear option
zero-tolerance policy
call your bluff
war of attrition
guerrilla warfare
punching above your weight
generals always fight the last war - default to strategies in the past
Endgame
exit strategy
Hail Mary pass
burn the boats
Joy's law
10x team
introverts / extroverts
generalists / specialists
commandos / infantry / police
foxes / hedgehogs
Peter principle
Managing to the person
strategy vs tactics
institutional knowledge
unicorn candidate
directly responsible individual
bystander effect
power vacuum
Deliberate practice
Challenge directory - care personally
radical candor
ruinous empathy
manipulative insincerity
obnoxious aggression
Consequence-conviction matrix Fixed vs growth mindset
Pygmalion effect
golem effect
impostor syndrome
Dunning-Kruger effect
Maslow's hierarchy of needs Hindsight bias Winning hearts and minds Culture
high-context / low-context
tight / loose
heirachical / egalitarian
collectivist / individualist
objective / subjective
loyalists / mercenaries
Manager's vs Maker's schedule Dunbar's number Boots on the ground Mythical man-month Market power
arbitrage
sustainable competitive advantage
first-mover advantage / disadvantage
product/market fit
(open) Secret
resonance
Consensus-contrarian matrix Homebrew computer club Why now? Now what?
Observe / orient / decide / act
What type of customer are you hunting?
personas
bright spot
beachhead
Idea maze Heat-seeking missiles Moat
lock-in
switching costs
barriers to entry / exit
regulatory capture
Winner-takes-most markets Crossing the chasm Cargo cult Circle of competence Overview effect 