Mental Models: Solve Problems With a New Perspective
As the saying goes, if you only have a hammer, every problem will be like a nail. The same logic applies when you approach more abstract problems. A “mental model” is a way of looking at the world, and sometimes you need to broaden your horizons beyond your usual mental toolbox by exploring things that are outside your norm.
This post originally appearedon James Clear’s blog .
Richard Feynman received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1965. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest physicists of all time. (Plus he was a good bongo player.)
Feynman received his BS from MIT and his Ph.D. from Princeton. In those years, he became known for visiting the mathematics department of each school and solving problems that a brilliant Ph.D. in mathematics. the students couldn’t decide.
Feynman describes why he was able to do this in his fantastic book You Are Surely Kidding Mister Feynman! (one of my favorite books that I read last year). How did he do it? He just had a different point of view after a high school teacher gave him a unique math book a few years ago:
This book also showed how to distinguish between parameters under the integral sign – this is a definite operation. It turns out that universities don’t teach this very well; they don’t stress it. But I figured out how to use this method and have used this damn tool over and over again. Since I was self-taught using this book, I had some peculiar methods of constructing integrals.
As a result, the guys at MIT or Princeton had trouble doing the definite integral because they couldn’t do it using the standard methods they learned in school. […] So I got a great reputation for integrals just because my toolbox was different from everyone else, and they tried all their tools on it before giving me the problem.
Mental models and your view of the world
A mental model is a way of looking at the world. Simply put, mental models are a set of tools that you use to think. Each mental model offers a different framework that you can use to look at life (or a particular problem). Feynman’s integral differentiation strategy was a unique mental model that he could draw from his intellectual toolbox and use to solve complex problems that eluded his peers. Feynman was not necessarily smarter than a doctor of mathematics. students, he just saw the problem from a different perspective.
However, where mental models really show up is when you come up with multiple ways to look at the same problem. For example, let’s say you want to avoid procrastination and have a productive day. If you understand the two-minute rule , the Eisenhower box and his other methods , and Warren Buffett’s 25-5 rule , you have a number of options for setting your priorities and getting things done.
There is no better way to manage your schedule and get things done. When you have many mental models at your disposal, you can choose the one that best suits your current situation.
Instrument law
In Abraham Kaplan’s book, Investigating, he explains a concept called the Law of the Instrument.
Kaplan says, “I call this the law of the instrument, and it can be summed up like this: Give a little boy a hammer and he will find that everything he comes across requires a blow.”
Kaplan’s Law is similar to the famous proverb you’ve probably heard before: “If you only have a hammer, everything will look like a nail.” If you only have one system of thinking about the world, you will try to fit every problem you face into that structure. When your set of mental models is limited, your potential for finding a solution is limited.
Interestingly, this problem may become more pronounced as your experience in a particular area grows. If you are smart and talented enough in one area, you tend to believe that your skill set is the answer to most of the problems you face. The more you master a single mental model, the more likely it is that this mental model will fail for you, because you begin to apply it indiscriminately to every problem. Smart people can easily develop a confirmation bias that confuses them in difficult situations.
However, if you develop a broader set of mental models, you will improve your problem-solving ability because you have more opportunities to get the right answer. This is one of the main ways that truly outstanding people separate themselves from the mass of smart people. Great people like Richard Feynman have more mental models.
This is why it is so important to have a wide range of mental models . You can only choose the best tool for a situation if you have a complete set of tools.
How to develop new mental models
In my experience, there are two good ways to build new mental models.
1. Read unusual books. If you read the same material as everyone else, then you will think the same way as everyone else. You cannot expect to see problems in new ways if you read the same things as your classmates, colleagues, or peers. So, either read books that the rest of your group rarely read (as Feynman did with his book on calculus), or read books that are outside your area of interest but may overlap in some way. In other words, look for answers in unexpected places.
2. Build a network of ideas that shows how seemingly unrelated ideas are interconnected. Each time you read a new book or listen to someone else’s lecture, write down the different ways this new information relates to information you already understand. We tend to view knowledge as divided into different silos. We think that one set of ideas is related to economics, another is related to medicine, and the third is related to the history of art. This is mainly a result of how subjects are taught in schools, but in the real world, information is not shared that way.
For example, the other day I watched a documentary that links the design of the Great Pyramids in Egypt to animal fighting rituals. According to the historians of the series, when animals fight each other, they often rise on their hind legs to increase their height and show their superiority. Likewise, when the new pharaoh came to power in Egypt, he wanted to assert his dominion over culture and therefore built very tall buildings as a symbol of power. This explanation links seemingly unrelated areas (architecture, ancient history, and animal behavior) in a way that leads to a deeper understanding of the topic.
Likewise, mental models from outside areas can reveal a deeper level of understanding of issues in your primary area of interest.
Do not try to tighten the screw with a hammer. Life and work problems are much easier to solve if you have the right tools.
Mental Models: How Smart People Solve Intractable Problems | James Clear