An Astronaut’s Guide to Mental Models
I'm conflicted about the whole "Mental Model" thing that has sprung up in the last couple years. In principle, naming and sharing useful patterns of thought is useful. In practice, every time I see them like this they make my skin crawl. Mental models are supposed to just be models, but, like, in your mind. People are building a pyramid on a mole hill instead of just noticing the hill...<p>Ah, just realized the applicable Mental Model according to TFA. They're blurring the distinction between the map (mental models) and territory (actual thinking).<p>Ed: first paragraph was largely superfluous.<p>Ed2: "building a pyramid on a mole hill" describes so many things. Did I just invent a Mental Model? I think I did.