The Great Mental Models Volume 1: General Thinking Concepts

When you read these concepts you probably will not be surprised by the main ideas. However, the book does a good of fleahing out the details to make the concepts clear and memorable and proper caveats of when to use the ideas. Simple advice is usually easier to apply and stopping to actually use these precepts will improve your decision making.

This book introduced several theories that, when simplified, allow us to think about things from different perspectives and allow for greater perspectives. This is my first time reading about Occam's Razor, Hanlon's Razor and while I have used inversion thinking in the past, it was simply something I did, but now I understand it and its reasoning. For the layperson who has not been exposed to these theories before, I found the book to be a great read. While sometimes a bit overly complicated, I appreciated that the author offered the philosopher's perspective on the theory and then offered a more modern-day example so one could take the idea and understand it in its simplified form. I gave it 4 stars only because I wish it was a tad bit more simplified and more straightforward for us non-philiosopher types who are simply looking to better understand how to approach the world we live in.

This is in the top ten books I’ve read. I’m planning to buy several of these to gift to close friends. If you’re intrigued by the notion of thinking better—more effectively, more decisively, more confidently—this book is an accessible treasure trove of practical information. If you’ve ever read Robert Greene and enjoyed it, this is written in a similar style without the diabolical tone and effect. Further, the design of it and reasonable price makes it an all around win. Just love it. Highly recommended! — from a guy who has a personal library of over a thousand books and reluctantly tells people I like to read when they ask what I do for fun.

Excellent delivery by Shane. He has such great insights and the ability to communicate complex ideas in a such a way that anyone is able to benefit. I have been following Shane and reading his content on his blog Farnam Street for quite a few months now. I was first exposed to the Mental Models on Shanes blog and was absolutely blown away. ANYONE can benefit from this audiobook and the application if its contents. This audiobook will make you realize what you have been missing, help you to become a better problem solver, decision maker and provide overall clarity. It will supply you with the necessary tools in order to help you look at the world and the problems we encounter in multiple ways. Get ready for an eye opening experience. Thank you Shane for putting together this content. Can’t wait for Volume 2!!!!

Great book, but when it arrived it was half sunbleached and looked very preused

The book is great and it is worth pondering every single mental model he describes. You may already know some of them or even all of them but having it described and discussed before you sheds some lights on aspects of the model you may have ignored in your use of it. I was deeply enlightened by many of the book’s discussions. The use of stories of great men and women is well crafted in almost all discussions. The only complaint I have is the naturalistic viewpoint that is preached in some parts of the book. I believe the author fails to apply the very thing he’s advocating for when he does that: a rational analysis of what is said. Take the Sagan example and do it by yourself, he throws one phrase from a scientist in the air as if the phrase was a scientific argument, which is clearly not. Note that the phrase in question is so damaging that it has been used many times to discredit important recent scientific discoveries. Anyways, my 2 cents: focus on what the author do best and forget about his wandering into metaphysics.

I won’t give 5 stars because what is a five star book? This was a very easy read for anyone who knows how to read and want to polish their thinking with a few tools. Unless you are an expert, it’s worth reading and keeping it handy. Where it could have been better is mostly when Shane writes examples. They are good, but I think half of them aren’t quite accurate or he is just speculating that someone used x or y model but he doesn’t really know. How about 5 examples that can contrast to one another; how about not showing them as a one mental model specific (as I’m sure all cases are a mix of several models) I guess it becomes the task of the reader to figure it out, but having listened to Shane before, I believe he could pull up better “case studies”. Also, we live in such complex interesting times; do we really need to talk about people who supposedly used these models 300 years ago? And not in our lifetime? I’m sure there is no malice in just writing about very old examples, it’s probably a Hanlin’s razor case! — FS / Shane is doing a great service putting this out there - but they can do much better with not a lot of effort. Thank you Shane.

The Great mental models give us a refresher on some models that most of us already know but reintroduces them in a way that just makes them click together

What a great book !

I really like Shane Parrish's way of writing makes it easier for me to understand and use the information to improve my life.

The book introduces mental models and establishes a foundation for its future volumes.

First of all, I am very disappointed with the quality of the second edition of the book I received from Amazon. It arrived in poor condition, appearing used with a worn cover, which has only deteriorated further over time. "The author thanks the publisher 'Cornerstone Press' in the acknowledgments, but in reality, there's nothing to thank them for. I can't remember the last time I encountered such poor quality in a book. From reviews I read, I am not the only one complaining about it. Speaking about the book itself, in my opinion, it didn't live to my expectations. There are a few mental models presented in the book. Some are explained really well some only shallowly. Compared to the book "Clear Thinking" it lacks a bit of depth and analysis. The book itself is 4/5 but due to the print quality the overall score drops to 2/5.

The book arrived in very poor condition . Would advise against buying the book fom this seller