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A PRACTICE IN CLEARER THINKING

Many disciplines.
A wider perspective.

Mental Models Study is a field guide to the ideas that help us understand the world, question our assumptions, and make more thoughtful decisions.

The library brings together 4,635 entries from 54 books and source texts. It spans mental models, cognitive biases, logical fallacies, heuristics, decision frameworks, cognitive distortions, and scientific principles.

Read. Connect. Apply.

Start with a question you are working through. Explore an idea, follow the connections to another discipline, and use the reflection prompts to make it practical. The value of a thinking tool comes from using it.

About the material

These entries come from a personal reference library assembled from the source texts listed below. Explanations, examples, and prompts vary in depth. Separate entries may cover similar concepts from different sources; they remain available so you can explore those perspectives.

Each entry includes its available source attribution. References to book notes are retained where the original notes are not part of the library. Available figures are included from the local source texts.

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Browse every entry and category directly, or search titles, summaries, tags, and domains. Search runs in your browser. There is no account or remote search service.

The source bookshelf

  1. 60 Cognitive Biases That Ruin Everything We Do by David Scott
  2. Algorithms to Live By The Computer Science of Human Decisions (Brian Christian, Tom Griffiths)
  3. Antifragile (Nassim Nicholas Taleb)
  4. Bad Arguments 100 of the Most Important Fallacies in Western Philosophy (Steven Barbone, Michael Bruce)
  5. Beyond the Five Whys Root Cause Analysis and Systems Thinking (James C. Paterson)
  6. Calling Bullshit The Art of Skepticism in a Data-Driven World (Carl T. Bergstrom Jevin D. West)
  7. Clear Thinking Turning Ordinary Moments into Extraordinary Results (Shane Parrish)
  8. Cynefin - Weaving Sense-Making into the Fabric of Our World ED02 (Dave Snowden Sonja Blignaut Zhen Goh)
  9. Decisive How to Make Better Choices in Life and Work (Chip Heath)
  10. Evidence-Based Decision-Making How to Leverage Available Data and Avoid Cognitive Biases (Andrew D. Banasiewicz)
  11. Fooled by Randomness The Hidden Role of Chance in the Markets and in Life (Nassim Nicholas Taleb)
  12. Heuristics and Biases The Psychology of Intuitive Judgment (Thomas Gilovich, Dale Griffin, Daniel Kahneman)
  13. How Not to Be Wrong The Power of Mathematical Thinking (Ellenberg, Jordan)
  14. Informal Logical Fallacies A Brief Guide
  15. Intuition Pumps and Other Tools for Thinking
  16. Lateral Thinking A Textbook of Creativity (Edward de Bono)
  17. Logically Fallacious - The Ultimate Collection of Over 300 Logical Fallacies
  18. Maxims for Thinking Analytically The wisdom of legendary Harvard Professor Richard Zeckhauser (Dan Levy)
  19. Mindware Tools for Smart Thinking (Richard E. Nisbett)
  20. Musashis book of five rings the definitive interpretation of Miyamoto Musashis classic book of strategy (Kaufman, SteveMiyamoto, Musashi)
  21. Noise A Flaw in Human Judgment (Daniel Kahneman, Olivier Sibony etc.)
  22. Nudge The Final Edition (Richard H. Thaler Cass R. Sunstein)
  23. Poor Charlie's Almanack
  24. Predictably Irrational by Dan Ariely
  25. Richard Feynmans Mental Models by Peter Hollins
  26. Rolf Dobelli - The Art of Thinking Clearly-Harper Paperbacks (2014)
  27. Seeking Wisdom From Darwin to Munger (Peter Bevelin)
  28. Skin In The Game Hidden Asymmetries In Daily Life (Nassim Nicholas Taleb)
  29. Super Thinking (Gabriel Weinberg, Lauren McCann)
  30. Surrounded By Idiots (Thomas Erikson)
  31. The 25 Cognitive Biases Uncovering The Myth Of Rational Thinking (Charles Holm)
  32. The Art of Asking Essential Questions Based on Critical Thinking Concepts and Socratic Principles (Linda Elder, Richard Paul)
  33. The Art of Being Rational Charlie Munger
  34. The Art of Logic How to Make Sense in a World that Doesn’t (Eugenia Cheng)
  35. The Bed of Procrustes Philosophical and Practical Aphorisms (Nassim Nicholas Taleb)
  36. The Black Swan The Impact of the Highly Improbable With a new section On Robustness and Fragility (Nassim Nicholas Taleb)
  37. The Decision Book Fifty Models for Strategic Thinking
  38. The Fifth Discipline The Art Practice of the Learning Organization (Peter M. Senge)
  39. The Great Mental Models Volume 1 General Thinking Concepts
  40. The Great Mental Models Volume 2 Physics, Chemistry and Biology
  41. The Great Mental Models Volume 3 Systems and Mathematics
  42. The Great Mental Models Volume 4 Economics and Art
  43. The Scout Mindset (Julia Galef)
  44. The Thinkers Toolkit by Morgan D Jones
  45. Think (Guy P. Harrison)
  46. Think Again The Power of Knowing What You Dont Know (Adam Grant)
  47. Think Like A Rocket Scientist (Ozan Varol)
  48. Thinking The New Science of Decision (John Brockman)
  49. Thinking in Bets Making Smarter Decisions When You Dont Have All the Facts (Annie Duke)
  50. Thinking in Systems A Primer
  51. Thinking in Systems and Mental Models Think Like a Super Thinker (Dawson, Marcus P)
  52. Thinking, Fast and Slow (Daniel Kahneman)
  53. Verified How to Think Straight, Get Duped Less, and Make Better Decisions about What to Believe Online (Mike Caulfield, Sam Wineburg)
  54. Wisdom Theory 100 Mental Models (2020) (Wisdom Theory)
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