Mental Models Are Maps

A mental model is a simplified representation of how something works. Like a map, it is useful precisely because it leaves things out. A map that showed every detail would be as large and complex as the territory itself — useless for navigation.

The best mental models are wrong in the right ways. They omit the details that don't matter for the decision at hand, while preserving the structure that does.

Collecting mental models from many fields — physics, economics, biology, psychology — gives you a richer toolkit for making sense of new situations.