Don’t ask a barber if you need a haircut. – Charlie Munger
The premise behind the model is that the behavior of humans (and indeed, many animals) can be shaped by rewards (positive reinforcement) and punishments (negative reinforcement).
Actions that are rewarded are likely to be repeated, and actions that are punished or lead to undesirable outcomes are likely to be avoided. This simple model is surprisingly powerful in predicting human behavior in a wide range of contexts....
Making decisions is hard and I found decision-making skills challenging to practice. One exercise that I’m currently exploring is the deliberate use of mental models to analyze case studies. This one is about the article “Like knocking down the Eiffel tower, battle to save historic Prague bridge“.
Summary of the main points The Vyšehrad bridge in Prague is facing demolition due to a plan from Czech Railways to replace it with a modern structure....
This post is a short analysis of a history article. My goal was to practically apply mental models in order to improve my thinking.
Question to answer: What led to the Mayan’s downfall?
Article Summary The Mayan Empire was centered in the tropical lowlands of what is now Guatemala, and reached the peak of its power and influence around the sixth century A.D. Unlike other scattered Indigenous populations of Mesoamerica, the Maya were centered in one geographical block and remained relatively secure from invasion by other Mesoamerican peoples....
All life is problem-solving. – Karl Popper
To create value for someone, to make progress with anything usually means solving problems. You want to achieve a goal, but unfortunately, there are obstacles in your way that you need to resolve to get there. At any one point in time, you probably have a full to-do list of problems that never empties. New items appear with every progress you make....
Social proof describes how people think it is appropriate for them to believe, feel, or do something to the extent that other people are believing, feeling, or doing it too. Social proof provides both the validity that something is good as well as proof of possibility. It also works in reverse for example with the Bystander Effect.
The effect of social proof increases with:
A higher number of people involved The degree of similarity these people have to you Your level of uncertainty about how to behave in a situation The degree of collectivism in your culture Social proof is a concept from psychology and social science coined originally by Robert Cialdini in his book Influence....