The Great Mental Models Volume 1: General Thinking Concepts Hardcover – December 1, 2018

This is one of those cornerstone books that will arm you for the arena of life. I so very much enjoyed this first volume!

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.

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.

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!!!!

I had high expectations, but the book was disappointing compared to them. This does not mean that book was bad. Farnam Street blog is maybe the best mental models for publishing, but the book does not match with the quality of the blog. When the book has Occam's Razor model in it, you must use it throughout the book. This did not happen. It is twice as long as it has to be. It lacks synthesis between the models. You can find more of it from the blog, but the book does not have it enough.I hope the second book is better because this wastes too much precious time. The content in the book is fine, but it could be better and shorter.

This book introduces basic mental models such as first principles thinking, anti-fragility, inversion, etc., to the novice reader, and it does a good job. You’ll need, however, more resources if you want to get deeper.

This book is a consolidation of the wonderful mental models that Farnam Street has learned over the years from its highly distinguished guests. The cover image does a perfect TL;DR on what the book really is - it is an assortment of important thinking concepts (frameworks) that you want:a) to be aware of, andb) keep handy to applywhenever you are thinking deeply about a problem or a life decision. It seems Shane Parrish has good motivations to assemble this because probably he is probably trying to teach all these models to his own kids.Note, I use the word assemble (with intention) because it is certainly an assembly book. The book does_not_ introduce some extensive new research or offer a brand new concept/model per se but rather is a nice consolidation of many important ideas in one single place -- the content is by no means author's original findings and they don't claim so either. Having said that, getting everything organized cohesively isn't easy at all, so kudos to them in my opinion. A clear read overall & definitely something to have in your bookshelf.

Great read. Even if much of it is not new to you, you will learn how to make these points with greater clarity