Halfway Point
I’ve been thinking a lot about slowing down this year (2023). Stopping to smell the roses. Maybe I am having… Read More »Halfway Point
I’ve been thinking a lot about slowing down this year (2023). Stopping to smell the roses. Maybe I am having… Read More »Halfway Point
I’m starting to note down my collected wisdom – the things that I have learnt over the years that I… Read More »Collected Wisdom
The so-called “cancel culture” is such a waste. I find it sad that we can’t appreciate one part of something… Read More »Let’s Not Throw Out the Baby with the Bathwater
Why You Must Be a Generalist To Manage Your Specialist (Cross post from Medium. I’ve been working on this idea… Read More »Don’t Ask The Barber if You Need a Haircut
I lived as a chronic procrastinator for a long time. If a task was boring, stressful, or both, I would… Read More »Hedonic Offset
Ego is a funny thing. I was raised in Australia with a religious bent (I more identify as atheist now),… Read More »Ego
The lightness of absurdism I’ve always been drawn to nihilism, but after reading more Camus and Nagel I’ve realized absurdism… Read More »Absurdism
Note: I first published this Comfort Zone post here on Medium many years ago. In some ways it’s just a… Read More »Stay in Your Comfort Zone
This is related to my musing/crisis around identity. The Different ‘Yous’ I notice this phenomenon quite often, but I don’t… Read More »The Different ‘Yous’
I like this little aphorism. I think it holds a lot of truth. For example, I’m a very good starter… Read More »How you do anything is how you do everything
First published 2017. I think the idea of having some traits that are strengths and some that are weaknesses is… Read More »Your Greatest Strength is Also Your Greatest Weakness
History is an excellent teacher with few pupils. Alice & Will Durant The cycles of history History is filled with… Read More »History
I find this little phrase – or dare I say mantra – very useful to jolt me into the present.… Read More »This is it
What is Chesterton’s Fence? Chesterton’s fence is the principle that reforms should not be made until the reasoning behind the… Read More »Chesterton’s Fence
Too much has been written about gratitude in this era. Write in your gratitude journal. Blah blah. This is not… Read More »Gratitude
The Denial of Death I just started reading Ernest Becker’s The Denial of Death and I’m currently obsessed with it.… Read More »Death
I had some interesting life experiences which led me to coin the term Hedonic Reset sometime around 2014. I must… Read More »Hedonic Reset
One thing that I find strange in our society is that we tend to punish people for changing their minds,… Read More »Mind Changing
Learn to ask of all actions, “Why are they doing that?” Starting with your own Marcus Aurelius Acknowledging ignorance The… Read More »Self Awareness
There are three principles that serve as the basic axioms of utilitarianism. (An axiom is a statement or principle that… Read More »Utilitarianism
This is one of my favorite things to think about. It leaves me with a feeling of wonder and appreciation… Read More »Randomness
90% of everything I know about morality I’ve read in a Jonathan Haidt book. In summary, “we are all self-righteous… Read More »Morality
I find parts of stoicism very appealing. Although it can be a bit at odds with my hedonistic streak. I… Read More »Stoicism
I love the Tao Te Ching. Amazing to think it was written around 400BC! In fact, for all things there… Read More »Tao Te Ching
I’m a bit of a nihilist at heart. But an optimistic nihilist. (With a hedonistic streak. I think I’m in… Read More »Nihilism
Perception is not reality. I think about this a lot. It is interesting from a rationalism philosophy perspective, a physics… Read More »Perception Versus Reality
Spinoza I am not sure how it happened, but I read Spinoza when i was quite young. Probably early-mid teenage… Read More »Rationalism
What is The Halo Effect? I wrote about The Halo Effect in Issue #11 of Mental Models Weekly. The Reverse… Read More »The Halo Effect
This is a favorite mental model of mine. I wrote about how Learning This Idea Made It Easier for Me… Read More »Fundamental Attribution Error
The topic of luck – or chance, is a fascinating one. There’s ideas like blind luck, but also ideas like you make… Read More »Luck
It’s hard to know where to begin on this topic. I am fairly atheist. I’ve got a long personal story… Read More »Religion
I focus a lot on being present. Whether with family or friends or even just when alone. Being present I… Read More »Mindfulness
I want to live for a long time! Of course not just wasting away, but I want to live a… Read More »Longevity
If you think about confirmation bias long enough, you start to notice that most platitudes and proverbs have a contradictory… Read More »Contradictory Platitudes
I love optical illusions as a metaphor to remember that perception is not reality. I once thought about getting the… Read More »Illusions
Everybody is the unconscious exponent of a dead philosopher. Unknown Practical men who believe themselves to be quite exempt from… Read More »Philosophy
Satificing is one of my favorite mental models. Every day we make so many small low-impact decisions. Learning about “satisficing”… Read More »Satisficing
I love this concept of sensory food. You are the books you read, the films you watch, the music you… Read More »Sensory Food
Think before you speak. Read before you think. Fran Lebowitz I read widely. I am old enough to have grown… Read More »Reading
I like to write things. I don’t find it very easy, but I find it to be valuable. Sitting down… Read More »Writing
If you just want to go straight to the Mental Models weekly newsletter please do. What is a mental model?… Read More »Mental Models