Mental Models are a fad?
Are mental models as useful as they are made out to be?
Hi.
Reading time: About 6 minutes
I know this title is literally questioning what I have been doing for close to two years now. I have written about more than 75 mental models so far. I am a big believer in them. But I would like to keep questioning what I do in a way which challenges the core beliefs I have. After all that’s what a rational person does.
Mental Models are frameworks you use to make a decision.There is no question that every human does use mental models.
“All human beings think in terms of mental models. Piaget’s research establishes that when a toddler is learning to walk, they build a mental model of their body in their brains.” - Cedric from CommonCog
Every single person uses mental models to learn. The difference in which mental models you use as you grow up in life differentiates you.
“I am a programmer by training. When I read a codebase, I build a mental model of the program in my mind. My brain’s chosen representation is a set of blocks that ‘interface’ with each other. A close friend tells me that his representation is a set of pipes that carry data throughout the program. Our brains may choose different analogues, but the point here is that they are physical in nature, and individually constructed.”
This is how your brain thinks.
In many fields the people who have been successful communicate what frameworks made them successful. But that is kind of the problem.
Most things which make them successful lies in their subconscious which cannot be communicated. They have had a ton of experiences in their lives which have built models in their head which cannot be expressed.
I am an avid reader of everything that I have been exposed to on Charlie Munger. I try to learn from him. Does this mean that when I enter my 90s I will be as wise as Charlie Munger? Absolutely not. Even if I read everything that made him so successful I can never be wise until I learn from my ‘self’. The journey has to be a mix of learning from others and also going on your own journey.
“you cannot learn the mental models of experts by studying the frameworks they teach. You must construct it for yourself through practice — perhaps by using their utterances as a guide — but ultimately your own competence has to be built on what you already know.” - Commoncog
The most important term to note there is practice.
Cedric wrote about becoming the best in MMA but i’ll just convert that into cricket.
My friend Sahil came to me one day and told me ‘Hey Samvit, I am going to be the world’s best batsman!’ I was shocked as he had never even played leather ball cricket, and I asked him ‘How the hell do you plan on doing that?’. He replied ‘I read every single article written by analysts and commentators as to how to become the world’s best batsman.’ Any rational person would read this conversation and shun Sahil off as an idiot because they understand the value of practice here.
The hard part does not lie in the knowing but it lies in the doing.
I know more than 70 mental models but if you ask me today how many I actually use I can tell you it is not more than 10.
“The upshot of this argument is this: don’t read blogs written by non-practitioners, spouting insights that aren’t related to their field of practice. Don’t read Farnam Street. Don’t read self-help hacks on Medium who haven’t achieved much in life. Hell, don’t read this blog — especially if your career goals diverge from mine. I have little to offer you that practice cannot.
Instead read from the source material of practitioners in fields you inhabit, copy their actions, climb their skill trees, and reflect through trial and error.” - Commoncog
This quote is bittersweet but true.Is there any point in listening to a 20 year old blabber on about mental models and self help?
There is honestly not a lot because most of the things I write about do not stem from a place of experience or expertise. Instead I would view myself as a learner exploring my own journey here. I would definitely come in the category of ‘Don’t read self help hacks on Medium who haven’t achieved much in life’.
But I also disagree in some sense. If you are reading my articles and have no knowledge about certain things it can spark a curiosity in you which if met with some focus and attention can lead to a lot of value in your life.
Like if I never wrote this article today, you would probably continue living in an illusion of reading about mental models is a sure shot way to success.
Are mental models useful in any way?
Mental Models are simply frameworks that successful people have communicated and they are being communicated by other people like Shane Parrish, Safal niveshak and I. We are simply messengers.
Knowing about how these successful people think and work is very useful. Let’s not forget that. If I didn’t know the importance of compounding and long term thinking that all these successful people talk about I would never have learnt anything in my life and would continue wasting my time simply consuming cheap dopamine.
What is also important to know is that:
“The most valuable mental models do not survive codification. They cannot be expressed through words alone.” - Commoncog
Practical life is important. If I read everything in the world about how to face Mitchell Starc and I go in thinking I know everything about him with confidence I will be humbled when I forget the fact that I have never in my life faced a ball at 140km/ph let alone a swinging ball at 140 km/ph.
Same thing I think is what I believe is true when it comes to work. I know a lot of things about investing when it comes to what you should be doing when you are in times of mania. You know that none of it is sustainable. You know that you will experience FOMO, etc. But when the time actually does come and you experience those things you will realise that you are confused as to what it is you have to do.
As of now I am facing that problem. I know that there is mania right now. I know the valuations in the market for most companies are not sustainable. Some of the best investors are holding cash in anticipation of bear markets. Some are saying there are good times ahead.
How do you react?
At the end of the day that’s the main objective isn’t it?
This is the most interesting thing that I know. There are experts who have been successful for a long period and have all been practitioners of value investing. But I can guarantee you all of them will have made different decisions for their portfolios. Their strategies will be different even though their philosophies are the same.
Everyone is reacting differently to something they all have the same knowledge about. They all know the mental models of Charlie Munger, yet their own models make them take different bets.
I think mental models are not fads. They are useful but it is important to acknowledge that everyone will end up having their own models through practice.
Source:
The Mental Model fallacy by Cedric Chin
The Mental Model FAQ by Cedric Chin
Thank you for reading,
Samvit.