# The Great Mental Models  ## Metadata - Author: [[Shane Parrish, Rhiannon Beaubien]] - Full Title: The Great Mental Models - Category: #books ## Highlights - Our failures to update from interacting with reality spring primarily from three things: not having the right perspective or vantage point, ego-induced denial, and distance from the consequences of our decisions. ([Location 166](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07P79P8ST&location=166)) - « Most geniuses—especially those who lead others—prosper not by deconstructing intricate complexities but by exploiting unrecognized simplicities. » Andy Benoit ([Location 208](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07P79P8ST&location=208)) - Only by repeated testing of our models against reality and being open to feedback can we update our understanding of the world and change our thinking. We need to look at the results of applying the model over the largest sample size possible to be able to refine it so that it aligns with how the world actually works. ([Location 272](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07P79P8ST&location=272)) - You may have noticed students who just try to remember and pound back what is remembered. Well, they fail in school and in life. You’ve got to hang experience on a latticework of models in your head.”8 ([Location 317](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07P79P8ST&location=317)) - Ruin is the destination toward which all men rush, each pursuing his own best interest in a society that believes in the freedom of the commons. Freedom in a commons brings ruin to all.” 3 ([Location 460](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07P79P8ST&location=460)) ## New highlights added July 31, 2023 at 6:02 PM - Start by assuming that what you’re trying to prove is either true or false, then show what else would have to be true. Instead of aiming directly for your goal, think deeply about what you want to avoid and then see what options are left over. ([Location 1435](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07P79P8ST&location=1435)) - He wins his battles by making no mistakes.» Sun Tzu11 ([Location 1527](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07P79P8ST&location=1527)) - medical students are taught to heed the saying, “When you hear hoofbeats, think horses, not zebras.” ([Location 1665](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07P79P8ST&location=1665)) - I need to listen well so that I hear what is not said. Thuli Madonsela1 ([Location 1704](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07P79P8ST&location=1704)) - Hanlon’s Razor states that we should not attribute to malice that which is more easily explained by stupidity. ([Location 1712](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07P79P8ST&location=1712))