Thread by @james_clear

1/ You can train yourself to become smarter. One of the best ways to do that is to expand the set of mental models you use to think.

2/ A mental model is an explanation of how something works. It is a concept, framework, or worldview that you carry around in your mind.

3/ Supply and demand is a mental model that helps you understand how the economy works.

4/ Game theory is a mental model that helps you understand how relationships and trust work.

5/ Entropy is a mental model that helps you understand how disorder and decay work.

6/ Mental models guide your perception and behavior. Learning better ones will help you make wiser choices and take better actions.

7/ The best mental models are the ones with the most utility. All models are imperfect, but the good ones are broadly useful in daily life.

8/ We all have our favorite mental models, the ones we naturally default to as an explanation for how or why something happened.

9/ This is often a pitfall of expertise. As you develop expertise in a given area, you begin to favor the mental models you have mastered.

10/ The more you master an idea the more likely it will be your downfall because you’ll start applying it indiscriminately to every problem.

11/ As the common proverb says, "If all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail."

12/ Relying on a narrow set of thinking tools is like wearing a mental straight jacket. Your cognitive range of motion is limited.

13/ When your set of mental models is limited, so is your potential for finding a solution. You have to expand your cognitive toolbox.

14/ The secret to great thinking is to learn and employ a variety of mental models.

15/ In school, we tend to separate knowledge into different silos—biology, economics, history, physics, philosophy.

16/ In the real world, information is rarely divided into neatly defined categories.

17/ As Charlie Munger says, "All the wisdom of the world is not to be found in one little academic department."

18/ World-class thinkers are often silo-free thinkers. They avoid looking at life through the lens of one subject.

19/ Developing a broad base of mental models is critical for anyone interested in thinking clearly, rationally, and effectively.

20/ Here's the good news: You don't need to master every detail of every subject to become a world-class thinker.

21/ Each field has a few mental models that form the backbone of the topic. Master those and you'll have a firm grasp on how life works.

22/ I've research more than 1,000 models and gradually narrowed that list down to a few dozen that matter most.

23/ I'm continually updating that list here: jamesclear.com/mental-models

END/ If you want to dive right in, here are a few to start with:
jamesclear.com/inversion
jamesclear.com/margin-of-safe…
jamesclear.com/entropy

Also, hat tip to my friend @farnamstreet, who knows far more about mental models than I do.