Mental Models

I define a mental model to be a framework for processing information for the basis of decision-making or understanding.

Based on my readings and life experiences, here are two which I’ve been applying as of late:

1. Bottoms-up (not related to the consumption of alcohol)
2. Short-term pessimism, long-term optimism

Bottoms-up

Bottoms-up is essentially first principle thinking; understand on the most micro level possible, and slowly build your understanding upwards. One of my favorite quotes by pseudo-philosopher Naval Ravikant explains the need for this all too well in the following quote; "it's easy to macro-bullshit, it's harder to micro-bullshit." I've seen people of all demographics and privilege macro-bullshit, myself included. Many people give out advice based on an up-down philosophy, which is usually a tell-tale sign of unhelpful feedback. Let's not be that person!

- Bottoms-up is the foundational principle of American grassroots democracy. It's the strength in numbers idea that true collective power comes from those at the bottom, not from those at the top. This is partially why I am not in favor of top-down government regulation of business - I think what society would benefit more from in general is consumer education as the consumers are the ones who dictate what businesses are important with their purchases. Essentially, business should be regulated not via the form of law, but by consumer action, in efforts to maximize consumer benefit over corporate/political benefit. 

- Bottoms-up applies to physics-STEM, as physics is the foundational science for other sciences and engineering. That's one of the reasons for my respect and admiration for the field of physics. Yeah - learning about AI and other hot topics might be sexy for the moment (been there, done that). However, if you don't have a deep understanding of the core components which power these technologies, you essentially are blind to the true power. Physics is one of those sciences which is grounded in objective truth; those sciences which are built on top of it are less so as it's further away from the truth.

- Lastly, Bottoms-up applies to startups. The fundamental unit of the startup is the problem you are solving for a customer. There's mythology, often about Steve Jobs, that he wasn't customer-centric and just knew off-hand that people would buy the iPhone. While I never met Steve Jobs, I would bet that his design mind was based on core principles of what the customer would see and enjoy (might have helped too that he was designing a product with his own interests in mind), versus being a really good speculator. When I think about start-ups nowadays, I ask myself "Is this company packaging results to a customer in the form of a product, or are they showing them an experience in the form of a product?" Intuitive or not, I would think that the latter sticks.

Short-term Pessimism, Long-term Optimism

Right off the bat, I will need to give credit to Garry Tan for framing the terminology for this model: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9NYrsE_yW64. I didn't watch the video, so here's my interpretation of Short-term Pessimism, Long-term Optimism.

Short-term Pessimism - a form of healthy skepticism that allows for learning. Life is interesting in that we learn from what is not, as opposed to what is. It’s the root of scientific thinking, we have an initial hypothesis, which we look for evidence that disproves that hypothesis in the journey towards learning. Oftentimes, it's easy to get tripped up in hopelessness (long-term pessimism) and seek instant gratification (short-term optimism) in place of dealing with challenging problems. In order to get wade through short-term pessimism and use it to your advantage, you need long-term optimism to carry you through.

Long-term optimism - having a vision of eventual improvement, usually through the passage of time. Know that short pessimism is the fodder for growth needed for our evolution as fundamental individuals. And since the individual is the functional unit of the civic society (Bottoms-up?!), as individuals progress, so does mankind. 

^^This is chatter, action is a whole other ballgame. Humans only see the problems from the micro/short-term perspective, which make sense because in order to thrive long-term, you need to survive in the short-term. Indefinite disenfranchisement and hopelessness at this phase are easy (long-term pessimism), and I empathize with those stuck in this phase as life has handled them opportunities masked in the form of hardship. That being said, focusing on the root cause of problems, and building towards a long-term goal will make the short-term pessimism a powerful phase that can not only be endured but harnessed for the purpose of a better goal.

---

Consider this a draft with raw ideas - feedback is welcome 👍