How to Acquire Mental Models


Find the underlying principles of what you learn. Build mental models.

Organize key ideas into a mental model. See how those mental models connect. Be aware of the cogs in the machine, but see them as parts of a whole (or parts of a part of a whole…).

Then you won’t get overwhelmed by the abundance of information, and you can freely sort and filter what you need.

Like the expert’s piercing gaze, where the beginner sees more than is manageable. It is to distinguish the forest from the trees and the trees from the forest.

Observe the data and find patterns in it.
Learn the lesson life teaches you.
Acquire models from reading and listening.

Incoming links: Mental Models