> [!tldr] Constructs of how the world works in your head. Each of us has an internal mental model of how life and the world works. We begin to construct this mental model from the moment we are born. Humans are [[Pattern]]-recognizing machines, and our model is composed of ever-more-abstracting patterns. As we learn we update to the mental model, often just adding new details and sub patterns to the existing patterns, but every once in a while [[Cognitive Dissonance]] builds up (we observe enough patterns that **do not fit** with our existing model) and we have to tear down some of the existing model to build a new, more correct (we hope) one. Our mental models are also filled with things we aren't necessarily consciously aware of. The book [[How Minds Change]] is a really good source for this whole topic. > [!tldr] 👉 The best way to be able to focus on the **right thing** is the formulation of strong mental models. You can form strong mental models by thinking about what will happen, making predictions of system behavior based on theories, then looking for differences in performance compared to the predictions. One thing that probably exists mental model efficacy is having cast a wide net. Having a breadth of experience in spotting [[Pattern]]s of wildly different types from wildly different domains you've experienced. See [[Mental Model Life Saving Stories]] **** # More ## Source - [[Smarter, Faster, Better]] - [[Thinking Fast and Slow]] - [[How Minds Change]] ## Related - [[Cognitive Funneling]] - [[Systems 1 & 2]] - [[Thin Slicing]] - [[Sampling Period]]