Mental models help you analyze data objectively, categorize thought processes, study, document, and reflect on how our our world works.
By taking time to truly learn and comprehend different mental models, we can objectively learn and make rational decisions based on facts by avoiding the common biases. Further, we can use the different mental models to create better proceses in our businesses and in our life!
One of the greatest thinkers in our modern world, Charlie Munger, coined the term Mental Models as a way he learns different big ideas from various disciplines. He believes that utilizing these big ideas from different disciplines, you become less like the man with the hammer, who sees every problem as a nail.
In my humble opinion, the easiest example to illustrate what in the world I mean comes from the Margin of Safety mental model. Charlie mentions this one in his speech, which basically describes that engineers who create the design for bridges may state the weight limit for those bridges - like a bridge that can only hold 10,000 lbs of cars. In my experience, it has been quite rare for anyone to actually check the weight of each car driving on the bridge. Gratefully, engineers build the bridge with a margin of safety, meaning it may actually be able to hold 30,000 lbs, but not expecting it to ever actually need to.
Our interlocked universe requires transdisciplined rational thinking to best understand it. Joshua Kennon has stated the importance of independent thinking as a key component of success. Mental models give you the ideas you need to make better decisions, and just as imperative, avoid bad ones!
Charlie Munger gave a famous speech on human misjudgement, where he listed out many biases ingrained into our psychological shortcuts. By running through a checklist of these biases and asking the right questions before making a decision, we can better guard against them.
Be different by thinking differently. Charlie Munger has raised the bar for those of us wanting to think rationally. We are the sum of the decisions we've made in our life, it is time to control each new addition. Take personal responsibility for where you are, reflect on how you got there, and decide today to make decisions as a rational thinker does in the future!