Mental Models

MentalModels
THINKING TOOLS

Powerful mental models, visualized

Interactive frameworks to make better decisions, solve complex problems, and think with clarity and precision.

Explore frameworks
🔄Interactive
✓Evidence-based
👁️Visual learning

Decision Frameworks

Ikigai
Interactive visualization
Explore

Mental Models Collection

Select a model to discover frameworks that can transform your decision-making and problem-solving approach

💡
Creativity

Divergent Thinking

A thought process that generates creative ideas by exploring many possible solutions and making unexpected connections, characterized by fluency, flexibility, originality, and elaboration.

Explore model
🧩
Innovation

Lateral Thinking

An indirect and creative approach to problem-solving that explores non-obvious pathways and perspectives, using reasoning that is not immediately logical to find innovative solutions.

Explore model
⚡
Strategic Thinking

Contrarian Thinking

A deliberate approach to reasoning that involves questioning prevailing wisdom, opposing consensus views, and exploring the value in unpopular or unconventional positions.

Explore model
🎲
Decision Making

Probabilistic Thinking

A mental framework that approaches uncertainty by assigning probabilities to various outcomes rather than seeking absolute certainty, leading to more nuanced and accurate decision-making.

Explore model
🦢
Risk Management

Black Swan Theory

A framework for understanding the disproportionate role of high-impact, hard-to-predict, and rare events that exceed normal expectations and have massive consequences.

Explore model
🌱
Self-Development

Ikigai

A Japanese concept meaning "a reason for being" - the intersection of what you love, what you are good at, what the world needs, and what you can be paid for.

Explore model
⏱️
Productivity

Eisenhower Matrix

A decision-making framework that helps prioritize tasks by urgency and importance, sorting activities into four categories to determine how to handle them.

Explore model
🔄
Decision Making

Second-Order Thinking

A way of thinking that considers the long-term consequences, interactions, and subsequent effects of decisions beyond their immediate outcomes.

Explore model
⭕
Self-Awareness

Circle of Competence

A concept that helps identify areas where you have an advantage due to experience and knowledge, and distinguish them from areas where you lack expertise.

Explore model
⚖️
Problem Solving

Inversion

A problem-solving approach that flips conventional thinking by focusing on avoiding failure rather than achieving success, asking "what could go wrong?" instead of "how can I succeed?"

Explore model
🧠
Meta-Cognition

Mental Models

Mental models are frameworks for thinking that help simplify complexity, make better decisions, and solve problems more effectively across various domains.

Explore model
🔬
Innovation

First Principles Thinking

A problem-solving approach that involves breaking down complex problems into their most fundamental elements, then reconstructing solutions from the ground up.

Explore model
✂️
Critical Thinking

Occam's Razor

A problem-solving principle that suggests when presented with competing hypotheses, the simplest explanation—the one requiring the fewest assumptions—is usually the correct one.

Explore model
🤝
Relationship

Hanlon's Razor

A principle that suggests we should not attribute to malice what can be adequately explained by incompetence or oversight—helping avoid unnecessary conflict and paranoia.

Explore model
📊
Probability

Bayes' Theorem

A mathematical framework for updating beliefs based on new evidence, allowing for more accurate probability assessments and better decision-making under uncertainty.

Explore model
About

About Mental Models

Mental models are frameworks for thinking. They simplify complex situations so you can reason through them effectively. Having a rich set of mental models to draw from can help you make better decisions and solve difficult problems.

This approach focuses on the essence of these cognitive tools, emphasizing clarity and practical applications over complex theoretical discussions.

🧭

Why Use Mental Models?

Mental models help us understand the world, identify patterns, and make sense of complexity. They're tools that extend our cognitive capabilities beyond our built-in limitations.

🔍

How To Use This Explorer

Browse the collection of mental models in the grid above. Click on a model to view detailed information with interactive visualizations focusing on the model's core principles.

🔄

Learning By Interaction

Each model features an interactive component designed to help you internalize the concept through direct engagement rather than just passive reading.