Learning how to learn: Mental models: A practical philosophy with basic principles for learning, doing and dealing with problems

We learn so that we can have new experiences, and so that we can solve problems, deal with change and create it. When we learn, our brain builds models, and those models form the foundation of our understanding, our intuition (whether right or wrong) and our habits. The better we understand this model building process, the better we can learn.Learning is perhaps one of the key points of existence. We learn so that we can have new or different experiences. Being able to learn means we can do new things or do old things in novel ways. This ability underlies the ability to solve problems. It also underlies the ability to create meaningfully.Mental models, or more simply models, are what we create when we learn. Whether we are learning something that is outside of ourselves, some system we have to run, build, sell, install, fix or upgrade or where it is something that directly involves ourselves, mental models are the result of that learning.A key to effective learning, to understanding, is building these models from two points of view. So that learning is efficient and non-frustrating we can break what we are learning into clearly defined elements and focus on small groups of these in relative isolation.A further element of learning is indexing the models that our brain builds so that we can call them up without having to think.An additional key to learning is being able to check what we’ve learned, so that we can improve our models when necessary.This books details a set of simple concepts, and includes principles (both first principles and basic principles) that can be easily adapted to make learning, problem solving, and creating easier.These concepts and principles provide a framework for both thinking about how to do things and how to actually do them.Learn how to learn, and how to:Build better mental models (and how to scale and modularize them)Make learning efficient, effective and less frustratingImprove problem solving abilitiesDeal effectively with fear and frustrationUse limits to become less limitedUtilize mental models for better muscle control and body awarenessImprove our understanding and the way that we do thingsIt all starts with the notion that our brain builds models, mental models, and those models form the foundation of our understanding, intuition and habits. At the same time, we can choose how we construct and index those models thus improving our understanding and the way that we do things. Read more