Super Thinking: The Big Book of Mental Models

This book is kind of "lets give a little anecdote for common buzzwords" in a narrative form. For example, when discussing anchoring they quote Art of the Deal where Trump's ghostwriter talks about him starting with an initial outrageous bid and negotiating from there.

I found the print book to be great as there are many visual representations and it is easier to pick out all the different mental models with their bold type as opposed to say the audiobook or even kindle for that matter. Overall I say again, I recommend this book and don't see how anyone could not like it unless they pick out some trivial detail like an example given in the first few pages of the book and succumb to availability bias as they ignore Hanlon's Razor and attribute malice to the author for their selection of an example to use when explaining concepts.

I wish this book was written a bit earlier. 3 years ago when my husband and I moved to the US I started reading as many books on self-development/self-improvement as I could fit in my free time. By this time I've read more than 50 bestsellers on these topics.In 2016 I stumbled upon Gabriel's article on Medium called "Mental models I find repeatedly useful" which is a compilation of many concepts with a short explanation of each one. I would say it's been the best article I've read so far (and I read a lot of them). So, of course, I ordered the book as soon as it became available.I learned some new important concepts from it, but if this book had been available earlier it could have saved me a lot of time. Sure, reading a whole book on one topic could give you more insights and examples to better grasp the concept but at the end of the day you can't retain all nuances in your head and are left with the most important idea from the book. This is what "Super Thinking" is all about - it gives you an array of useful ideas with vivid examples so you could understand every concept without you reading an elaborate 300 pages explanation on every single concept.I would suggest not just read this book and put it on the shelf thinking "okay, I got it, it's simple" (actually all well-explained concepts are fairly simple), but to refer to it as many times as needed until you are completely satisfied with your life and can be proud of yourself. The main point is - we know so much more in theory than we apply in practice. Even the models which look like buzzwords and you think you're already familiar with them - ask yourself if you actually use them. There was a saying of Richard Feynman in the conclusion of this book that there is a difference between knowing the name of something and knowing something. I strongly believe that every person could reach their fullest potential if really applied these models to their every single step, every single decision. If you want to achieve success in every area that's important to you, take "Super Thinking" seriously.Thank you Gabriel and Lauren for this amazing book.

First, it should be mentioned that the hardcover version, which I bought, is printed on perhaps the cheapest paper I’ve seen in a book. This bothers me and is not acceptable.Aside from the mediocre materials used to print this book, I have many problems with the content and to cut to the chase, would not recommend it.- most of the examples that accompany a model’s introduction are fine. What bothered me are the many examples where the authors introduce their own biases and social “leanings” into the text.I expected, (perhaps naively) for a “pure” overview of the ideas promised in the book description. This is not the case.- most of the book is needlessly verbose to the point that it becomes tedious to read.- illustrations included are boring and uninspiring.

Gabriel Weinberg's return with - Super Thinking, will have you thinking different in a more profound way. Now partnered with his wife and author Lauren McCann - it is a book that will give you great models to navigate life both personally and professionally. Be prepared to up your game with thinking in general and have a keen thought process with the decisions you make it everyday life. Once I started on this journey by opening the book and reading, it was hard to put down. I found myself using both the hardcover and Kindle edition depending where I was just to get to the end of the book. I wanted to see in anticipation of the next model to the next model and think about how I could apply this to my everyday life. It was a joy to read and I find myself now doing mental exercises on the concepts I picked up in Super Thinking. If you feel like life is full of complexities and you want a solid framework of how to navigate then I strongly suggest you pick up this book.Gabriel is the founder of DuckDuckGo.com and that should tell you enough of the thought he has put into thinking of our world and the privacy issues now coming to light in the world of information we live in. As a bonus, the artwork is great throughout the chapters.

In the past year, I've delved into books and blogs on mental models, and this book is a standout because of its lively writing with vivid, engaging examples, grouped by practical themes. I’m halfway through and am already benefitting from the many mental models that are new to me. I've applied them in work and personal situations and conversations. Pulling together so many mental models from different disciplines was no small feat, and the authors of Super Thinking handled it masterfully. I purchased four copies to give to young adult relatives for graduations and birthdays. Highly recommended.

A great book gives you a basic understanding of many mental models, gives you just enough depth to be applicable. Many of the fields which they reference are very deep and rich fields which require additional reading in order to have a more comprehensive understanding. However, that is not what this book was intended for, the book serves its purpose and is a great read!

Well-thought-out exposition of models, many from the world of start-ups. Great, current examples. Fun reading, even just to be reminded of models I already knew about.

I'd been aware of some of the things in this book for a while, but I can tell this is epic collection of mental models collated in to a single book and arranged in logical order is going to have a significant effect on the way I look at life (not just work). Only a chapter in and I find this book engaging and enjoyable while educational.If you liked the "Head First" books I would say this is similar in some respects; explaining abstract concepts and relating them to the real world in memorable ways.

The first half of this was interesting and new to me but the second covered models I'd seen elsewhere.The summaries at the end of each chapter are really all you need to read as the authors have pulled together a huge collection of ideas from lots of other people but added nothing of their own. Maybe, that is all they intended but I'd have appreciated some more insights into how they had deployed some of these in building Duck Duck Go for example.

I feel like I must have read a different book to everyone else. Yes there's lots of 'names for ways of thinking' such as the example that sticks with me: victim blaming, then an explanation of what that means and why you shouldn't do it. Okay but.. so that's one of my "400" mental models? Who needs that explaining? A lot of the concepts are obvious but explained and then off on a tangent to talk about them, supply statistics on the topic etc... but we're not trying to learn about those subjects, we're trying to learn mental models. I got about 25% through. Maybe as a reference it would be okay but not a book to read in it's entirety for me.

A well written, succinct and useful collection of ideas about business, life, success and happiness all encapsulated in the mental model of “mental models”After getting half way I found it a little repetitive, but struggled to the end and continued to learn some things.If you are already far along in your career, or in your thinking, much of this will be familiar, but it’s still a useful synthesis of lots of things that you should know, or had forgotten that you did. This book should certainly be on the virtual bookshelf of everyone who is just leaving school or college or just starting out in buisness or adult life.

This is a fast-paced and easy to read journey through various mental models that you will find useful in daily life. You will certainly be familiar with many of the concepts in the book, but there are many hidden gems, and the author draws from a relatively wide array of disciplines (aside: though perhaps a little too much on statistics, the discussion of type II errors etc was excessive). There will of course be many 'mental' ideas that are missing, but plenty here for the curious reader.