Conceptspace Wikia

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Welcome to the ConceptSpace Wiki

"I think the best question is, "Is there anything I can do to make my whole life and my whole mental process work better?" And I would say that developing the habit of mastering the multiple models which underlie reality is the best thing you can do...It's just so much fun and it works so well." -Charlie Munger

This wiki is an attempt to build up what Charlie Munger refers to as a "latticework of mental models." The problem with simple lists of models is that the lack of cross references fails to cement the understanding. The hyperlinks on TvTropes makes the concepts more fun and interesting to investigate. Ideally, this wiki would become TvTropes for non-fiction.

The top level index is: List of Lists of Concepts

See also Contributor Guidelines and a Prototype Page.

Current test heuristic for wiki exploration: Find a concept you already understand and click the links on that page to the concepts you've never heard of. Have a suggestion for a better heuristic after trying this? Great! Feedback and suggestions are much appreciated and can be posted to the General Discussion Board.

Where did the content on this wiki come from?

A large variety of material informed the creation of the pages here. Perhaps this sort of project owes the most to George Polya, whose How to Solve It introduced generations of readers to the idea of systematically improving their repertoire of problem solving concepts. The aforementioned Charlie Munger provides the motivating/framing metaphor for the wiki itself. Concepts are drawn from Munger, spread throughout his books and speeches. Similar thinkers like Ray Dalio in his Principles in which he discusses several hundred mental models, problem solving approaches, and stances. The works of Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky on various categories of thinking errors. The works of Philip Tetlock and the literature on forecasting principles. The research of Douglas Englebart and Richard Hamming who did revolutionary work at Bell Labs and expounded on the need for exploration of concept space. Alfred Whitehead, who explicitly discusses concepts and concept formation in his Modes of Thought as well as bits and pieces from many other analytical philosophers, especially Quine. Many posts by various people on LessWrong and associated blogs, as well as the Center for Applied Rationality. The work of Alfred Korzybski, Robert Kegan, Douglas Hofstadter, Freeman Dyson, and innumerable others.

"If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants."

Latest activity

The ConceptSpace mascot, credit Zack Weinersmith