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Mental Models

Bias from Liking/Loving: Why We Comply With Those We Love

The decisions that we make are rarely impartial. Most of us already know that we prefer to take advice from people that we like. We also tend to more easily agree with opinions formed by people we …

Continue readingBias from Liking/Loving: Why We Comply With Those We Love

Mental Model: Bias from Conjunction Fallacy

The bias from conjunction fallacy is a common reasoning error in which we believe that two events happening in conjunction is more probable than one of those events happening alone. Here’s why this …

Continue readingMental Model: Bias from Conjunction Fallacy

Commitment and Consistency Bias

We have an instinctual desire to remain consistent with our prior actions and beliefs. This can lead us to behave in irrational ways. Here’s how the commitment and consistency fallacy can lead us to …

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The Many Ways our Memory Fails Us (Part 3)

(Purchase a copy of the entire 3-part series in one sexy PDF for $3.99) *** In the first two parts of our series on memory, we covered four major “sins” committed by our memories: …

Continue readingThe Many Ways our Memory Fails Us (Part 3)

The Fundamental Attribution Error: Why Predicting Behavior is so Hard

The Fundamental Attribution Error refers to a logical fallacy: our belief that the way people behave in one area carries consistently over to the way they behave in other situations. We tend to assume …

Continue readingThe Fundamental Attribution Error: Why Predicting Behavior is so Hard

The Many Ways Our Memory Fails Us (Part 2)

(Purchase a copy of the entire 3-part series in one sexy PDF for $3.99) *** In part one, we began a conversation about the trappings of the human memory, using Daniel Schacter’s excellent The …

Continue readingThe Many Ways Our Memory Fails Us (Part 2)

Multiplicative Systems: Understanding The Power of Multiplying by Zero

We all learned in math class that anything times zero is zero. But if you stop thinking about the idea here, you don’t see all the practical applications that understanding multiplicative …

Continue readingMultiplicative Systems: Understanding The Power of Multiplying by Zero

Mental Model: Bias from Envy and Jealousy

“It is not greed that drives the world, but envy.” — Warren Buffett *** It is a fact of life that we are not equal. Not biologically, not culturally. Some inequities come from flawed …

Continue readingMental Model: Bias from Envy and Jealousy

Mental Models: Getting the World to Do the Work for You

People are working harder and harder to clean up otherwise avoidable messes they created by making poor initial decisions. There are many reasons we’re making poor decisions and failing to learn …

Continue readingMental Models: Getting the World to Do the Work for You

Daniel Dennett: Tools for Critical Thinking

Philosopher Daniel Dennett shows us how to train your brain to think better in his book Intuition Pumps and Other Tools for Critical Thinking. Dennett, a pioneering thinker in cognitive and …

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The Value of Grey Thinking

One of the most common questions we receive, unsurprisingly, is along the lines of What one piece of advice would you recommend to become a better thinker? The question is kind of cheating. There is, …

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The Munger Operating System: How to Live a Life That Really Works

In 2007, Charlie Munger gave the commencement address at USC Law School, opening his speech by saying, “Well, no doubt many of you are wondering why the speaker is so old. Well, the answer …

Continue readingThe Munger Operating System: How to Live a Life That Really Works

How Clever Leaders Overcome More Talented and Better Funded Competitors

Talent and resources aren’t always enough to succeed. Doing incredible things requires true passion. Sometimes a driven, inspired team can succeed against one with more talent and funding. *** In the …

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Towards a Greater Synthesis: Steven Pinker on How to Apply Science to the Humanities

The fundamental idea behind Farnam Street is to learn to think across disciplines and synthesize, using ideas in combination to solve problems in novel ways. An easy example would be to take …

Continue readingTowards a Greater Synthesis: Steven Pinker on How to Apply Science to the Humanities

Shane Parrish on Mental Models, Decision Making, Charlie Munger, Farnam Street, And More

An interview I gave that I think you’ll enjoy as I talk about reading, mental models, investing, learning and more. *** Shane Parrish is the curator for the popular Farnam Street Blog, an …

Continue readingShane Parrish on Mental Models, Decision Making, Charlie Munger, Farnam Street, And More

The Three Buckets of Knowledge

The three most fundamental sources of knowledge are physics, math, and human history. They offer us endless learning and mental models. Here’s how mastering the three buckets of knowledge can give you …

Continue readingThe Three Buckets of Knowledge
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