Mental Model - Abhishek Chakraborty (Page 3)

Mediocristan and Extremistan: The Two Categories of Random Events

We misappropriate the correlation between one event for some reason and another event for a different reason. What we need to be concerned is with systemic effects: things that can affect more than one person should they happen.

The Lindy Effect: Things That Age In Reverse

According to the Lindy Effect, while a book that has been a hundred years in print is likely to stay in print another hundred years, a 100 year old human being has only a couple more years to go.

Via Negativa: The Process of Making Good Decisions By Eliminating Bad Ones

When we set goals—both personal and professional—we tend to focus on what we should do, rather than focussing on what we should avoid. Humans naturally know more about what is wrong, what is bad, what is harmful, or what won’t work, more than they know about what is right and what would work.

Regret Minimisation Framework: How to Live With Minimal Regret

Regret is the result of comparing what we actually did with what would have been best in hindsight. You cannot—in theory or practice—have a life completely devoid of regret. But you can achieve the next best thing: a life with minimal regret.

Green Lumber Fallacy: The Disconnect Between Academic Knowledge and Practical Wisdom

What works in real world may not match our stories of why or how it works. Unimportant details and post-hoc narratives can often distract us into thinking we know the reasons for something when we really don’t.

The Tyranny of Small Decisions: How Little Actions Turn Into Big Mishaps

Before it was a park, Boston Commons was a grazing pasture for cows. Local families used it collectively. Then a problem arose. Each additional cow that a farmer got benefited their family, but when all the farmers kept getting new cows, the commons started getting depleted.

Externalities: Handling Things That Are Out of Your Control

An externality is something that affects us without us agreeing to it. Externalities can be both positive and negative. Understanding the types of externalities and how they impact your life can help you improve your decision making, and how you interact with the world.

Inversion: Working Backwards to Solve Problems

Inversion is an interesting way to relook a problem by turning it upside down. It is immensely helpful when you are stuck and there’s no way to move forward. Inversion forces you look at a difficult problem backwards, or from a completely new perspective.