Throughout these essays, there are discussions of various mental models.
While these deviate from the main through line of 0 → .1, they should not be seen as distractions.
Rather, these mental models are thought processes that can help reframe and elevate the larger frameworks we’re working through in this book.
They’re like tasteful decorations around the facade of a building: not essential to its structure, but critical to making it complete.
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What exactly are mental models and how do they operate together? The great investor Charlie Munger explains this best:
“Well, the first rule is that you can’t really know anything if you just remember isolated facts and try to bang ‘em back. If the facts don’t hang together on a latticework of theory, you don’t have them in a usable form. You’ve got to have mental models in your head. And you’ve got to array your experience, both vicarious and direct, on this latticework of models.”
As with other things, Munger’s profound insights are hidden beneath a layer of frank talk.
What he’s describing is a diverse group of mental models — things like first principles thinking and inversion — that he collected over many years. Munger called on these models selectively when working through problems in order to unlock new insights and find unique solutions.
Where many bring plastic forks to problem-solving fights, Charlie Munger always had a shed full of tools to pick from. The result? Do a quick Google search of Berkshire Hathaway’s performance since Munger came on board.
Why is this collection of mental models so valuable when building a product, brand, story, or anything else? Because every growing thing is unique in its own ways and will present unique problems.
You cannot rely on past solutions, but instead, must be willing to think for yourself and craft new, tailored responses.
Mental models are vehicles for doing this.
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0 → .1 curates the mental models that are most relevant to early-stage growth: inversion, first principles, scaling contradictions, and more.
These small chapters are meant to begin populating your own latticework of models that can be called on whenever a thorny problem arises.
When reaching a mental model chapter in this book, it may be tempting to sift ahead and continue on with the core frameworks of 0 → .1.
Don’t deprive yourself. These mental models are each small jewels to collect in your problem-solving arsenal.
