The Great Mental Models Volume 2: Physics, Chemistry and Biology

Summary

The book entails 20 concepts on physics, chemistry, biology, and, 2 supporting ideas. The book provides ample space to develop mental models of science. It also aligns the book’s insights with generalized solutions/concepts.

Table of Contents

Physics

1. Relativity
2. Reciprocity
3. Thermodynamics
4. Inertia
5. Friction and Viscosity
6. Velocity
7. Leverage

Chemistry

8. Activation Energy

9. Catalysts

10. Alloying

Biology

11. Evolution Part One: Natural Selection and Extinction

12. Evolution Part Two: Adaptation Rate

13. Ecosystem

14. Niches

15. Self-Preservation

16. Replication

17. Cooperation

18. Hierarchical Organization

19. Incentives

20. Tendency to Minimise Energy Output

Supporting ideas

21. Competition

22. Dunbar’s Number

Breaking It Down

1. Relativity

Relativity is the subjectivity of perspectives

It highlights the importance of something in relation to another

Theory of Relativity = Theory of General Relativity + Theory of Special Relativity

Theory of General Relativity: It is also known as the theory of gravity where gravity is a curving or warping of space. The more massive an object is. the more it warps the space around it. For example, the sun warps the space across the solar system causing other planets to orbit in curved paths around it. Similarly, a heavy ball resting on a rubber sheet warps the sheet.

Theory of Special Relativity: It relates to the way things look in one frame of reference to how they look in another. The laws of physics are the same for all non-accelerating observers which are known as an inertial frame. To comprehend special relativity better, it is crucial to understand the frame of reference which drives the subjectivity of perspectives.

The non-inertial frame of reference = State of acceleration

Inertial frame of reference = At a standstill or moving at a constant velocity

An example of a non-inertial frame of reference is an individual being pushed into the seat when the roller coaster is moving in the tracks. While for the inertial frame of reference, it is a person standing at a platform observing a plane take off

Galileo’s experiment

In Galileo’s experiment, a scientist dropped the ball in a moving boat. He observed the ball dropping vertically down. However, a fish or an observer will observe both the vertical and horizontal movement. This relates to special relativity where the non-inertial frame (scientist) is compared to an inertial frame of reference (fish/observer). It reflects different perspectives from everyone having different frames of reference.

Witnessing lightning experiment

Person A witnessed a flash of lightning while a train goes by. Compared to person B who is on the train and witnessed the lightning in front of the train hitting first. Person B saw the front lightning first as the lightning had to travel further due to relative motion. Compared to person A which was an inertial frame of reference as he was at a standstill. Hence Newton’s first law of motion applied. While person B had a non-inertial frame of reference as he was in a state of acceleration

How one’s perspectives show one’s frame of mind

One’s perspectives showcase their frame of mind as their perspectives give one a glimpse of their beliefs, and biases. Guide how they see the world. Similar to the theory of special relativity on the inertial and non-inertial frames of reference, the difference lies in having a relative motion. As everyone is in different motions, the perspectives will naturally differ.

Importance of understanding other perspectives

1. An idea of one’s vantage point and the factor(s) that influence their framing
2. Reduces blindspots
3. Better grasp of reality

2. Reciprocity

Reciprocity is the concept where for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. It is also known as Newton’s third law and states how when one act on things, they act on oneself.

Reciprocity in volunteerism

Even though one might think that volunteerism is a form of giving, we are actually receiving from the act of volunteering. Volunteering leads to health benefits. Hence, the act of doing good creates an equal reaction of feeling good. For example, Norman Bethune’s drive and energy came from his genuine desire to help others than himself to gain recognition.

How loss aversion deters reciprocity

The case of loss aversion shows how humans perceive losses to be greater than gains. Due to the fear of rejection, it makes it hard to engage others in the way some would want. The pain of rejection is perceived as stronger than the possibilities of feeling accepted. It is pivotal to start looking at potential outcomes in aggregate as they tend to be positive.

Two types of reciprocity

a. Direct: I scratch your back you scratch mine

b. Indirect: Pay it forward concept

Schadenfreude

Schadenfreude is a German word that translates to “damage-joy”. It is the delight/satisfaction that arises from another’s misfortune/suffering. Schadenfreude comes from three areas:

1. Aggression: Towards anyone outside “our tribe”
2. Rivalry: Sense of one’s superiority
3. Justice: Reciprocity of one deserving the misfortune/suffering

Eternal Treaty

In the 1250 BCE, most of the power in the region was from 4 kings – Egypt, Haiti (now a region in Turkey), Assyria and Babylon. The world’s first peace treaty was between Ramesses (Egypt) and Hattusili (Haiti). By agreeing to this treaty, it allowed them to exit the war which takes up resources. Enabling them to focus on long-term stability and cement their own legacies. The Eternal Treaty relates to reciprocity as it delineates how positive behaviour reciprocates positive behaviour. In this case, the positive behaviour of creating an alliance compared to the negative behaviour of attacking one another

Reciprocal behaviour is one of the outcomes of evolution

Reciprocal behaviour is a natural product of evolution as one is more likely to survive if one receives help. For one to receive help, one has to first offer it. Hence, those that are more likely to survive are those that received help- which potentially helped others as well.

3. Thermodynamics

Four laws of thermodynamics

1. The law of conservation of energy: Energy can neither be created nor destroyed. It can only be transferred or changed from one form to another such as light ot heat. There are two forms of energy exchange: Heat (energy exchanges through thermal interaction) and work (energy exchange by any other process than heat). Work can be completely converted into heat while heat cannot be completely converted into work.
2. The total entropy (measure of amount of energy which is unavailable to do work and also defined as a state of randomness/disorder) of an isolated system perpetually increases. One needs to expand energy to create order. Without expanding energy, all things will move away from order.
3. As temperature approaches absolute zero, the entropy of a given system approaches a constant value.
4. Zeroth law: If two objects are in thermal equilibrium with a third object, then the two objects are also in thermal equilibrium with each other

The concept of thermodynamics is mainly the second law on entropy. The state of randomness/disorder in a system perpetually increases. Order can only be created by expanding energy.

Three types of heat transfer

1. Conduction

Through direct contact

For example, hand touching a cooking pan while it’s hot. Brands conducting certain values to consumers

2. Convection

The movement of matter/Movement of heated build such as air/water

For example, hot air rising from a cup of hot coffee

How the exchange between a teacher and student acts as intellectual and social convection currents.

3. Radiation

Emission of energy as electromagnetic waves/Energy that travels through space at the speed of light

For example, Feeling the heat of the sun on one’s face. Television, social media, radio and more radiate ideas globally.

Thermal Equilibrium

Thermal equilibrium is the condition where two substances in physical contact with each other exchange no heat energy.

For example, an ice cube melts as it undergoes temperature change when left out in the summer. Similarly, a group of people undergoes a change in customs depending on who they interact with outside their group.

Thermodynamics and the three walls of history

1. Hadrian’s Wall/Roman Wall
2. Great Wall of China
3. Berlin Wall

1. Hadrian’s Wall

The wall controls the movement of people and goods. Slows down aggressors, opens up opportunities to develop relationships with people on the other side of the wall and most importantly, it maintains the contrast between the Romans and the tribes of the north.

Hadrian’s Wall relates to thermodynamics as it shows how difficult it is to completely “insulate” the movement of people and goods as it requires a great cost to maintain the insulation. To put it in thermodynamics terms, The Roman culture was “hot” and Hadrian’s wall served as an insulator reducing the effects of thermal equilibrium where other tribes/countries cools Rome.

2. Great Wall of China

The aim of the wall was to protect the country’s economic development and cultural progress. It was also to prevent the pollution of other ideas from its culture. It showed how complete insulation is a bad idea as it consumes resources constantly to prevent “equilibrium” from occurring.

3. Berlin Wall

The wall was built to prevent the population in Soviet-controlled East Germany from escaping to West Germany. The attempt to stop movement of people and ideas eroded East German’s perception of communism.

This relates to thermodynamics as it delineates how difficult it is to keep two substances (East and West Germany) from adjusting to the same temperature. It requires one to invest plenty of resources constantly.

The value of contrast

The value of contrast was well elucidated by “Twilight of the Idols” by Friedrich Nietzsche which mentioned politics. He shared how it is in the interest of self-preservation that the opposing party should not decay in strength, If all forces are balanced where it is in a state of equilibrium, there will be no growth, change and movement. It is through the contrast that spurs development.

This demonstrates thermodynamics’s third law which states as temperature approaches absolute zero, the entropy of a given system approaches a constant value.

How fairy tales combat thermodynamics second law on entropy

It tames the terrifying disorder/randomness that surrounds people. Fairy tales convey hope will tide people through calamities. The book writer of “Into the Woods” John Yorke mentioned, “Every act of perception is an attempt to impose order to make sense of a chaotic universe”.

Fairy tales allow one to reduce and simplify the randomness/disorder that they experience. More than that, it provides them with a sense of hope that order will prevail.

Essentially, it is making sense of the senseless.

The importance of narratives and certain products for people

In people’s attempt to understand randomness/disorder and narratives, certain products provide order to others by explaining entropy. More importantly, it helps to reduce and simplify its complexities of it.

For example, there will always be a narrative on why the stock market is down or up on a certain day.

The Hero’s Journey and Thermodynamics

• Home is threatened
• The protagonist encounters a flaw/problem
• Goes on a journey to find a solution
• Halfway through finds the solution
• On the way back, they/he is forced to face the consequences
• Faces literal/metaphorical death
• Becomes a new/better person, with the solution and solves the problem

The Hero’s journey shows how entropy(disorder) is reduced and how eventually there is hope that order will prevail. It also provides a plausible explanation why stories that have the framework of the Hero’s journey tend to have commercial success as it helps to reduce entropy at an unconscious level.

4. Inertia

Inertia is the resistance to a change in an object’s state of motion. An object will stay in its current state unless there is an external force in play.

Momentum

Momentum is mass in motion

P = M x V

P = Momentum

M = Mass

V = Velocity

It relates to how an object in motion stays in motion. To increase or decrease the momentum of an object is dependent on the velocity/force and mass.

Getting started is the hardest hurdle

The start line is always the hardest as it requires force to change the state of motion of an object. Similarly, it explains why habits are hard to form and hard to break.

Belief & Intertia

The stronger people’s belief in something is, the harder it is to change their state of motion (their minds).

5. Friction & Viscosity

Friction is the force that must be overcome to attain an outcome

Viscosity is the difficulty for one layer of fluid to slide over another

Two types of friction

a. Kinetic: Two objects sliding past one another

b. Static: Friction that keeps an object stationary

Shaping one’s environment relating to friction

An environment can create both a positive and negative effect on one’s learning experience. Hence, it is vital to remove areas of friction/challenges in one’s environment, making it easier to achieve one’s desired outcome. For example, removing one’s mobile phone when reading.

Key points

1. What is easy in one environment might be hard in another
2. The main forces relevant to a situation depends on the scale that one is operating in

Removing areas of resistance than applying more force

Removing/reducing the resistance is easier than applying more force

Organisational effectiveness

Organizational effectiveness can be increased by changing the environment to one with lesser viscosity & friction – promoting communication & innovation.

Key driving point

The concept of inversion reinvents the thinking process from how to solve a problem to how to create & catalyze a problem and seek ways to prevent it, the concept of friction & viscosity seeks to remove forces of friction & viscosity.

6. Velocity

Velocity is speed towards a certain direction

Velocity vs speed

The difference lies in knowing where one is headed towards. Even if one is going at great speed, clueless about which direction, where one is headed, is as good as being lost. Hence, driving the importance of having velocity than speed especially when one has a goal in mind.

Increasing/ensuring that one is increasing velocity rather than speed

This can be achieved by accounting for factors that can limit it. The bigger/heavier/more mass an object has, the harder it is to change the general direction

Optimal velocity

To achieve optimal velocity, it is vital to strike a balance between speed & size.

7. Leverage

Leverage is reaping results greater than the energy/force exerted

Fulcrum relating to leverage

A fulcrum plays a pivotal role in a situation. It relates to leverage as the distance between the fulcrum and the point where effort is exerted. It determines how easy it will be to move an object.

A higher distance between the fulcrum and the point where effort is exerted decreases the effort required to move an object.

3 Questions to determine leverage

1. How do I know when I have leverage?
2. Where and when should I apply it?
3. How do I apply it?

Chemistry

8. Activation Energy

Activation energy is the ingredient that starts a reaction, breaking apart the current state of affairs and transforming it into something new.

In chemistry, activation energy is the energy used in a chemical system in order to create a reaction, breaking bonds so that new ones are formed.

Creating lasting changes requires sustained effort

Similar to the activation energy, habits and behavioural changes requires sustained efforts to be changed. For activation energy, lasting changes are formed when new bonds are created. If the new bonds are not created, the reaction will be incomplete and the attributes of the old bonds will remain. Hence, the energy that was put in place to overcome inertia will be thoroughly wasted as the sustained efforts were not seen to the end to create lasting changes. Successful bonds and reactions require one to use new ways of doing things.

Logically, the bigger and more challenging a task/behavior one is working towards, the more activation energy is required.

Change that doesn’t last is easy. Where a lot of people miss the mark on what is required to produce real change is figuring out the initial investment of energy needed to not only start the reaction, but to finish it.Shane Parrish

Creating sustainable change – How Asia Works

In the book How Asia Works by Joe Studwell, he shares the success of the economies of Japan, South Korea and Taiwan while spotlighting the failures of Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand. All the countries mentioned has a period of increasing growth. However, only Japan, South Korea and Taiwan were able to sustain it. He share how there were three key factors to why they were able to sustain it. Which were:

1. They maximized output from agriculture
2. Directed investments and entrepreneurs toward manufacturing
3. Financial policies that supported both of the two points

The financial initiatives of the countries showed how they frequently accepted low near-term returns on industrial investments so as to build industries capable of producing higher returns in the long term.

Furthermore, the policies encouraged exporting domestic goods, incentivising knowledge transfer and technological developments in the process.

What Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand failed to achieve is sustaining growth by looking long-term than short-term. The financial policies did not incentivise them to export their goods, creating platforms for knowledge transfer and technological developments. Furthermore, the true gainers were the landowners that made more money through land rental and banks that focused on consumer landing- achieving high yield returns.

What really worked for Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan was fostering the early accumulation of capital and technological learning by proactively intervening in financial policies. The economy was not given policies that were governed by free trade and regulation from the start. The government put in place the right policies with the right aid and incentives to spur economic and technological growth.

Habits & Activation Energy

Similarly, habits are driven by the concept of activation energy. Habits are driven by the desire to create lasting change. However, the difficulty lies in creating lasting change as it is harder than creating change. Hence, to overcome the activation energy and create lasting habits, invest more effort consistently than required. For habits that are harder to create, align oneself with the fact that huge amounts of activation energy (effort) are consistently required. Motivate and ensure one follows through to create the lasting changes

9. Catalysts

Catalyst is the secret ingredient to accelerating change. Even though catalysts cannot create a different reaction, they can reduce time.

A suitable catalyst is created to accelerate change and it can be added/removed from a reaction.

Incentives being catalysts

The use of financial gains to advance research and technology to find faster, cheaper, safer, and more innovative solutions.

The printing press as a catalyst

In the past, before books were created, attaining knowledge was difficult as there was no direct access to books. They were neither accessible nor affordable. Hence, the creation of printing presses that made the process accessible and affordable made the process of attaining knowledge easier. Hence, serving as a catalyst for mankind to attain knowledge

Unexpected events being catalysts

Even though many rather not have unexpected and unfortunate events happening in their lives, they actually serve as catalysts of change. For example, a person finds out that their health condition is bad and the only cure is to adopt a healthy lifestyle. This will spur them to adopt a healthy lifestyle that only promotes the upside for them. Another example is how a retrenchment from work might create the right time and change for a person to reflect and spend quality time with their family. Hence, when unfortunate and/or unexpected events do occur, it is pivotal to see them as a catalyst of change than being demoralized/fearful of it.

If there were no such events, one’s life will be rather stagnant than eventful.

Autocatalysis

It is whereby the outputs of a reaction are the same catalysts needed to start it just that it is self-sustaining. In many cases, the desired outcome is for autocatalysis to occur – removing the need for energy and catalysis to be constantly present. The question will be how to create autocatalysis which allows one to reap its benefits without constantly needing the input of one’s energy.

Technology as a catalyst

Retrospecting on the milestones of the 21st century, huge advancements in technology have catalyzed changes in many ways. Economically, socially, demographically, and more. These changes bring about both good and bad. Hence, it is vital for one to observe and gain insights into how such developments will catalyze changes in the world. Understanding and gaining accurate insights creates new opportunities for individuals to better comprehend how the world is changing – and what action to adapt to it.

10. Alloying

Alloying is a process whereby mechanical heat and mass transfer involve complex interactions between solid, liquid and gaseous phases to create combinations of more than one element.

An alloy is a mixture, either in solution or compound of two or more metals, or a metal and a nonmetal.

The process of alloying creates an element that comes with different favorable properties.

For example, bronze which is made of 90% copper and 10% tin is materially harder and more chemically resistant than pure copper or tin.

Another example is the creation of steel whereby iron and carbon are combined. Steel is much harder than pure iron and carbon allowing greater advances in the industrial age.

Knowledging & Alloying

Knowledge is the culmination of theory & experience. Experience allows one to update their perspective which triggers new experiences. Evidently, experiences and views have a reinforcing effect on each other.

Aristotle’s five components of knowledge

1. Scientific knowledge (episteme)
2. Art or craft knowledge (techne)
3. Preudence or practical knowledge (phronesis)
4. Intellect or intuitive apprehension (nous)
5. Wisdom (sophia)

Leonardo da Vinci’s attaining human understanding

The key components that allowed him to attain great bounds in human understanding are:

1. Acute observations
2. Curiosity
3. Experimental testing
4. Willingness to question dogma
5. Ability to discern patterns across discsiplines

Biology

11. Evolution Part One: Natural Selection and Extinction

Natural selection and extinction is the process of responding to the changing demands of one’s environment or dying out. As a whole, we are constantly trying to obtain marginal advantages that will increase one’s odds of survival and avoid extinction.

Natural selection does not preserve changes that may be useful in the future. Rather, it preserves changes that are useful now.

Natural selection requires three elements

1. Variation between individuals
2. Environmental conditions that favor or select certain variants over the others
3. Means to reproduce those variants that are better suited to the environment.

Main causes of extinction:

1. Competition
2. Change in environment

Generalist vs specialist species

Generalist species are far more resilient than specialist species. For example, rats and cockroaches are far more resilient than koala bears.

Finding enlightenment through customs & long-standing ideas

To understand why some traits, ideas, traditions, customs, and more stick around, one must look at how it interplays in their environment. For example, why English and Mandarin are the most widely used languages. Another example is learning math and logical reasoning as these skills allow humans to understand further and innovate.

12. Evolution Part Two: Adaptation Rate and the Red Queen Effect

Adaptation’s success is relative to the pressure and competition that it faces.

For example, the peppered moth in Britain is genetically light in colour. However, genetic variants made some darker in colour. Generally, the darker variants would fall prey more easily compared to the lighter variant as they are easier to spot. However, the industrial revolution which created soot pollution made the lighter peppered moth stand out instead. Hence, the darker variants of the peppered moth were less preyed on compared to its lighter variant. However, when pollution was being reared in by the government, it led to the lighter variant peppered moth to stage its comeback.

Identifying when to adapt to one’s environment

Adaptability is having the ability to recognize how old/current practices are becoming less and less successful in a changing environment. Requiring one to innovate so as to increase one’s chance to improve/succeed.

You snooze you lose

Even though the phrase “you snooze you lose” seems just like a catchy phrase, it has a lot of underlying value. It explains how when one stops adapting, one will be “extinct” or “endangered” as the people around them are not stopping. Hence, if one stays where they are at (plateau), they are likely to be left behind.

The Red Queen Effect

The red queen effect is the need for constant adaptation seen in the book Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland where The Red Queen told Alice, “Now, here, you see, it takes all the running you can do, to keep in the same place”. Even though this example may seem rather extreme, it does show an underlying truth in our society. Those that adapt to the changing needs of the market tend to outdo those that do not seek to change & improve.

Vestigial Structures

They are structures with no apparent function and benefit and seem to be residual parts from ancestors. An example is ostriches which have small flightless wings which are leftovers from the ones that once gave them flight. Even though vestigial structures are apparently useless, they are still around as there is no apparent harm that it does. Hence, they are still intact as it is not a determinant of one’s adaptability.

Do not reinvent the wheel. Rather repurpose it.

Exaptation: Features that acquired functions that are not originally adapted for it

For example, the feathers from birds may not have been for flight but rather for insulation and attracting mates. However, due to natural selection and adaptation, those that were able to attain flight survived while those that were not able to are extinct.

A learning point from exaptation is that instead of trying to create something completely new, it is easier to see how current features can be repurposed to gain new benefits. Hence, it is how we repurpose our skills and knowledge to gain an adage advantage.

Exaptation is all about the context. If birds did not face environmental pressures to fly, feathers might not be necessary for them to gain flight.

The downside of strength

It is easy for those that are talented to pick up new skills and knowledge quickly. However, it is not strength that sets one apart but rather adaptability that differentiates one. It actually opens up the plausible reasoning why an individual’s IQ does not determine their outlook in life. This is because strength breeds rigidity while adaptability breeds flexibility. Hence, it is pivotal to not be complacent and always seek to learn & adapt at any juncture.

13. Ecosystem

The ecosystem is the interaction of living organisms in a physical environment creating a bubble of life.

One of the mistakes made towards the ecosystem is trying to intervene. Humans suffer from intervention bias where they always seek to do something instead of leaving it as it is.

For example, when a wildfire happens, the local fire department may attempt to put every single one of them out. However, wildfires have ecological benefits such as the burnt dead plants providing nutrients they contain back to the soil – fertilizing the next generation. Furthermore, the fire removes the areas that overly thickened (populated) and diseased plants.

Most of the time, the focus is on intervention instead of preservation.

Trade ecosystem

More is achieved when ecosystems are not closed off but rather open. For example, China trying to maintain a closed trading system by banning all trade internationally. However, it did not stop China from trading with it – just that it was done illegally through smugglers and pirates. Europe saw the mass opportunities in China and created a large illegal network. This led to the entire closed-off China ecosystem being interrupted. This led to China repealing the trade laws and opening its border to trade internationally.

Walsh’s ecosystem formula to building the perfect football team

in 1979, Bill Walsh became the general manager and head coach of the worst team in the American National Football League. However, by 1989, he had developed a dynasty of championship winners. Walsh showed how within the 49er’s organization, everyone had a role to play and every role is essential to its essence – including its janitors. It involves every individual knowing what was required of them and how their contribution was essential for the organization’s success. He showed it was about creating a culture that was flexible in effectively responding to continuous and sudden changes in its environment. Furthermore, he ensured that the players had their lives outside of football well managed as well. He understood how their external lives have an important impact on their performance and assimilation into the organization’s culture. He also understood each of the different player’s personalities and tweak his style towards how they were like. He also adopted an approach of finding each individual’s strengths and how they can contribute instead of what they were bad at.

The law of the minimum

The law states that the yield of a crop will always be decided by the essential nutrient that is available at the lowest level. If one skip sleep to have more time, tiredness becomes the limiting factor. It is very much the bottleneck in operations terms where the slowest input determines the possible output.

Know the components of an ecosystem

By tying all the ideas tie together, it delineates the importance of knowing the different components of a system and how interconnected they are. This is followed by understanding how the different components interact with each other and how different actions will lead to different outcomes.

Understanding how external stability is an important factor

Other than understanding the inner workings of an ecosystem, it is important to understand the external factors as well. For example, in order to have a large customer pool, the economy must be good enough whereby many consumers have the buying power to purchase the items. Another example is developing good workers. The nation’s education system has to be good in order to do so. Hence, other than influencing one’s internal factors, it is also important to positively influence one’s external factors. Allowing the ecosystem to be maintained/improved.

14. Niches

Generalist: Cover large territory and face more competition but are flexible in meeting their needs

Specialists: Occupies a small territory and faces less competition but are more rigid in their requirements.

Generalist organisations generally have a broad niche allowing them to survive in a variety of places due to their ability to eat different food and survive in different environments. For example, the species that are generalists are rats, cockroaches and humans.

On the other hand, specialists do well under stable environmental conditions as the traits they possess enable them to thrive well in those particular environments. An example is koala bears that eat eucalyptus and pandas eating bamboo. If eucalyptus or bamboo are not present, it will likely endanger or lead the species toward extinction.

15. Self-Preservation

Self-preservation is an instinctive behavior that organisms have for self-protection.

It makes us believe that pain = bad

Fight, flight or freeze response

Organisms have reflexes that drive instinctual self-preservation which is a fight, flight or freezes response.

When we feel threatened, flight is often the first response. Similarly, in a modern context, when one fails in a particular exam/project/endeavor, one tends to allow self-preservation to take over – taking flight from the realities of their situation. Knowing how self-preservation works challenges us not to take flight even though it is instinctive. It challenges us to rise above our self-preservation instincts.

Knowing when self-preservation aids or hinders one’s growth

In a primitive era, one’s self-preservation instincts were essential in saving mankind in the wilderness and from danger. However, in the modern era, self-preservation can cause one to shun pain. However, that pain can be the breaking point towards growth and enlightenment. It challenges one to wake up earlier, work harder, compete harder, and adapt harder than others. Due to how comfortable many people are living in, it does not trigger their self-preservation instincts to work hard. Instead, it encourages them to enjoy the moment. Hence, it is important to use it to our advantage instead of plateauing.

Allowing self-preservation to take over creates short-term benefits & long-term detriments

Self-preservation causes one to horde, run, and hide. For example, when a person feels that they are not valuable to a company and face the potential of being laid off, they tend to horde and hide information, run away from the truth, refuse to teach others, and more. These behaviors break long-term trust and reduce the efficacy of the entity. Hence, it is pivotal to understand how self-preservation works and take action against it. One should be open to sharing information, helping others, and teaching what one knows to better aid the organization. Self-preservation causes one to think short-term instead of long-term. (even though at the spur of the moment, it might seem like a long-term play for the individual)

16. Replication

The ability of one’s DNA to make a copy of itself during cell division is known as mitosis.

Three building blocks for replication to occur:

1. Code that represents what one wish to replicate
2. Means of copying the code
3. Place to process the code and construct the replication

Meiosis: a sex cell containing a copy of half a female’s chromosomes and is combined with half of a male’s chromosomes to produce a new cell. The offspring is genetically unique having two sources of genes from the male and female cells.

Exact replication perpetuates bad mutations

Having different combinations of replications promotes better fitness and variations as a species.

When replication occurs without diversity, it promotes degradation in some form. Hence, diversity is necessary to promote innovations and improvements in the replication outcome.

For example, during the 11th century, the Habsburg family dynasty ruled over a big portion of Europe, England, Hungary, Ireland, Portugal, Spain, and other countries. They believe that they had to guard their power against other royal families leading them to loathe marriages that promoted sharing it with other families. The outcome was the Habsburgs married close blood relatives such as cousins or nieces to keep their power intact. However, the lack of diversity (genetic variant) caused them to have unusual jawlines, with an enlarged chin, an underbite, and thick lips. It led to their infant mortality rate being far higher. The Spanish branch had 34 children and half of them died in the first decade and 10 before their birthday.

This led to the Habsburgs being wiped out after 16 generations due to closed-blood marriages.

The more something is copied, it is generally weakened

It is important to have diversity to deter against genetic degradation and this concept applies similarly to many different situations/contexts.

German secret to achieving the replication “sweet spot”

To achieve perfect replication, the components have to be rigid enough to be easily copied while being flexible enough to adapt to inevitable changes. The same concept applies to businesses where it is pivotal to be adaptable and innovative enough to make success a continuous effect.

4 elements of commander’s intent

1. Formulate
2. Communicate
3. Interpret
4. Implement

The first two (formulate and communicate) are the responsibility of the senior commander and the last two (interpret and implement) are the responsibility of the subordinate commander.

In order to develop these skills, there are 4 criteria to be considered:

1. Explaining the rationale (not just the what and why, but how they arrived at a decision)
2. Establish operational limits (identifying what is completely off the table)
3. Getting feedback often (continuous loop between levels)
4. Recognizing individual differences (unique psychological makeup of each subordinate)

This allows continuous success by providing space for one to innovate and adapt.

Replicating culture

It is common to notice how certain customs/traditions are too rigid to allow for the necessary development that comes from new ways of doing things to fit into existing cultures.

One of the examples showcasing the replication of culture is tea. Tea originated in China as the plant then was native to a small region in southwestern China and parts of India and Myanmar. Tea was seen as a drink that “lightens the body and changes the bones”.

Traveling Buddhist monks brought tea to Japan. It was associated with ceremonies relating to both political power and cultural expression. However, the culture of drinking tea was truly ingrained in Japan by a Buddhist monk Myoan Eisai who returned from studies in China. He propagated zen as a teaching that could save Japan and tea drinking as a medicine that could restore the Japanese to health. This led to Japan cultivating its own tea plant and tea consumption.

The success of tea being infused into different cultures lies in its flexibility. Tea can be consumed in multiple ways – allowing it to be modified to fit different cultural desires and norms. Furthermore, different degrees of oxidation can create green, oolong, or black tea – providing even more variations. In addition, the different brewing techniques provided local depth to it. A firm concept (leaves from the tea plant) with its flexibility (different oxidization and brewing techniques) allowed it to be replicated successfully in different cultures.

Key point

For effective replication of success to occur, there must be enough structure and space to produce a copy while maintaining flexibility to adapt the copy to a changing environment. While maintaining a successful approach requires the ability to grow and modify.

17. Cooperation

Cooperation or symbiosis is whereby a cooperative relationship is formed. It is to live together in a close association which is usually mutually beneficial

3 Symbiotic relationships

1. Mutualism: an interaction between individuals of different species that results in positive effects on per capita reproduction and/or survival of the interacting populations
2. Commensalism: an association between two organisms in which two organisms in which one benefits and the other derives neither benefit nor harm
3. Parasitism: a close relationship between species where one organism, the parasite, lives on or inside another organism, the host, causing it some harm, and is adapted structurally to this way of life

Cooperation speeds up progress

An example is the development of the railroad and telegraph. Telegraphs provided train companies with a mechanism for communicating the progress of trains on the line on whether they were late or early so that people could get ready to load their goods or adjust their personal schedules. This increased the efficiency of the railway increased the profitability of the railways. While on the other hand, railways provided telegraph companies with the necessary infrastructure to construct their system – setting up poles and wires linking to cities and stations that housed telegraph offices.

Shared belief

In the book written by Yuval Noah Harari, Sapiens showed how shared beliefs allowed humans to believe in the value of currency, laws, corporations, and nations. Allowing people to work together and live together. The more encompassing a shared belief is, the more one will forget how it is of human construct. An example is the creation of currency. Currencies are so widely used that we tend to forget that currencies are actually pieces of worthless paper that are given value by people’s shared beliefs.

18. Hierarchical Organization

Hierarchies are linear dominance rankings found in ecosystems.

One of the drawbacks of hierarchies is perceiving the value of those at the bottom to be lower.

Status symbol

In reality, what one wears helps one to negotiate one’s relations with the outside world and provides one with comfort and protection. However, the same might not apply to a selected few. Such as billionaires that wear simple clothing as a way of announcing to the world that their status is so secure that they do not have to announce it.

Insights from The Captain Class by Sam Walker

In his book, he mentioned how good leadership is about acting in the interests of the group than one’s own interests. Sam Walker explained further that when it comes to competition, most believe that the leader of a team is the person who does something amazing when the odds are not in one’s favor. However, it does not go against the grain as he mentioned “real captains lowered themselves in relation to the group whenever possible in order to earn the moral authority to drive them forward in tough moments. The person at the back, feeding the ball to others, may look like a servant – but that person is actually creating dependency. The easiest way to lead, it turns out, is to serve”.

Leadership is about putting the group’s interests foremost and serving.

Boss vs Leader

There is a difference between authority and leadership. However, both are not mutually exclusive. One can have authority but not have leadership and the opposite is true as well.

Key point

A successful entity lies in placing the organization’s needs and interests over one’s personal needs and interests. When this is achieved, it yields better results.

19. Incentives

Incentives are the key determinants for shaping one’s behaviors.

Incentives affect one’s behavior

Incentives can drive stronger behavioral changes. When there is an actual reward and punishment, it skews the perception of it. For example, if an action yields a certain reward, it reinforces the behavior – encouraging the behavior to be repeated.

However, incentives also create undesirable effects through drugs, gambling, and loyalty programs.

Long-term influence of short-term incentives

As a species, we tend to prioritize incentives that provide immediate pleasure. For example, during elections, voters want to know how the policies of the person they are voting for, create an immediate impact for them rather than the future generations. This promotes many politicians to think short-term than rather long-term as the people want immediate gratification.

Similarly, public-traded companies are driven to think short-term as they have to focus on producing stellar quarterly results consistently. Hence, it is difficult for companies to invest in long-term investments that compound over long periods of time.

Aligning incentives

A good leader leads his men into battle like a man climbing to a height and kicking away the ladderSun Tze

Cognitive dissonance and incentives

Incentives are not only driven by financial rewards. Incentives are also driven by things that individuals value. Humans do not like cognitive dissonance (the state of tension that occurs whenever a person holds two cognitions such as ideas, attitudes, beliefs, and opinions that are psychologically inconsistent) that are psychologically inconsistent. This leads to individuals engaging in self-justifying rhetoric to reduce dissonance. It causes one to be biased towards the negative information and find ways to turn it positive.

The acceptance of an initial incentive creates a psychological state where one becomes too invested in maintaining whatever story first brought about that incentive, so one can justify their acceptance of it.

Motivated by uncertainty

If individuals knew that they were going to win in a certain event, it does not excite them as much when they win with a chance of potentially losing. The limit to this is the value of the result outweighing the value of the process. Winning a game against friends is not life-changing hence it does not incentivize us to a guaranteed win. However, if it was working in a certain job for 2 years allowing one to travel for the rest of their lives, we would rather have the guaranteed win.

Key points

It is vital to understand what are the key incentives driving others and whether cognitive dissonance corroborates their actions.

Also, it is important to notice how we are biologically made to go for immediate gratification and short-term gains. By understanding how we are like, we should focus our sights on long-term gains instead.

20. Tendency to Minimize Energy Output

The tendency in organisms to conserve their energy is what allows them to draw on it during times of increased need.

However, for humans, it is to ensure that our tendency to minimize energy output increases our effectiveness and does not lead to laziness.

The way people solve problems is first by having an enormous amount of common-sense knowledge, like maybe 50 million anecdotes or entries, and then having some unknown system for finding among those 50 million old stories the 5 or 10 that seem most relevant to the situation. This is reasoning by analogy.Marvin Minsky

Brains are energy minimizers

Our brains are generally set to energy-minimizing mode. This leads to the importance of understanding heuristics which is the efficiency mechanism behind one’s thinking. For example, when one is making a decision, our brain unconsciously thinks of shortcuts from our different experiences. Similarly, in chess, the players do not consider all the possible options but rather think of the few most effective options that come to mind.

Decisions/thinking come with a cognitive load requiring brainpower. Hence, heuristics allows one to reduce the cognitive load and expend less brainpower to reach the few plausible options through one’s experience.

However, there is an aspect of heuristics that causes us to consult our emotions when it comes to making judgments and decisions. This is the case due to the available shortcut provided by our emotional responses than our thinking responses.

Despite the usefulness of heuristics in increasing efficiency in terms of energy use (brain power), it does not lead one to the optimal answer/decision/judgment.

The law of least effort

In the book thinking fast and Slow, Daniel Kahneman explained how the general law of least effort applies to both cognitive and physical exertion. If one was given several ways to do something, we tend to gravitate towards the one that requires one to exert the least effort. The effort is equivalent to the cost and the acquisition of skills determined by the benefits and costs. Thus, our human nature tends to pull us towards laziness as we tend to take the easy way out. The challenge will be psychologically and mentally visualizing how acquiring a certain skill and/or knowledge reaps much more benefit than the costs (time & brainpower) involved.

Cubicle offices vs Open offices

Recently, there has been widespread popularity in having open offices. However, open offices are not something revolutionary as they can be seen dating back to the 1930s. Frank Lloyd Wright who was an iconic architect designed the very first modern open office in the 1930s for the Johnson Wax headquarters. What sets it apart from the other “imitators” was its respect for the human tendency to minimize energy output. He designed the desks to be spaced out enough to reduce distractions and promote free movement within the space. The columns and filing cabinets served as unofficial divisions. Furthermore, ensured that administrators had their own private offices on a mezzanine level so that they could focus and enjoy privacy. What the “imitators” did instead created an open office with desks cramped together.

What Wright figured out was that the office landscape was about minimizing the energy people needed to collaborate or to focus.

Key point

Our human tendency to minimize energy output enlightens us that this tendency hinders one learning and growth. Due to how our brain functions as an energy minimizer and how generally the law of least effort applies to us both cognitively and physically, we tend to do things that make us feel good. Resulting in us choosing to enjoy the present rather than learn & grow for the future.

Experience requires one to expend energy to attain it and experience does not become learning if there are no reflections involved. And reflection itself requires one to exert plenty of brainpower and energy to see its fruition. Understanding how our primitive and psychological works, it should serve as a reminder and encouragement to learn & grow instead of letting the tendency to minimize energy output take over.

21. Supporting Idea 1: Competition

Competition is a zero-sum game as individuals compete for finite resources. The more scarce a resource is, the more aggressive the competition is.

Competition is also one of the key driving forces in many human systems. Through competition, it creates improvements and innovations. For example, competition for market share between businesses challenges them to provide cheaper and better products and services for customers. Hence, it explains why monopolies are discouraged as it encourages stagnation.

22. Supporting Idea 2: Dunbar’s Number

Dunbar’s number was created by Robin Dunbar, an evolutionary anthropologist who argues that there is a limit to the number of people with whom one can maintain stable social relationships. He mentioned that the limit is 150 people which is set by our neocortex size. When it goes above 150, our neocortical limitations make it difficult for people to maintain relationships with everyone due to information overload

5 people: One’s inner core of closeness, consisting of people whom we support and support on a daily basis. They tend to be our partners, family, and best friends

15 people: Close friend group who are integrated into our lives to the extent of knowing their behavior well even though we might not see them very often

50 people: Includes basic friends and acquaintances who we hang out usually more in group settings with some understanding about them.

150 people: People that are in the same community as us where we know their faces and names

500 people: Friends of friends whom we do not really know but know exist.

1500 people: The upper limit of putting a name to their faces

This shows there is a limit to one’s ability to achieve social maintenance – making the quality of people we want to invest/spend our time with important.

Summary

The Great Mental Models has provided readers with myriads of concepts drawn from Physics, Chemistry and Biology. Personally, these are some of my takeaways from each concept:

1. Relativity: It shows how there is subjectivity in perspectives through the case of special relativity involving an inertial frame of reference that follows Newton’s first law on motion while a non-inertial frame of reference has different points of view. It highlights how people will have different perspectives from themselves due to different positions, experiences, and understanding. Hence, it is important to understand where others are coming from to reduce one’s blind spots and have a better grasp of reality

2. Reciprocity: It delineates the importance of treating others well and understanding how one’s effort placed into something will create a yield equivalent to the effort placed into it.

3. Thermodynamics: Thermodynamics is a multi-faceted concept as there are four laws excluding the zeroth law. The first law is conservation of energy where energy can neither be created nor destroyed, only transferred or change. The second law is total entropy of an isolated system perpetually increases and one needs to expend energy to create order. While the third law elucidates how as the temperature approaches absolute zero, the entropy of a given system approaches a constant value. While for zeroth law, it how If two objects are in thermal equilibrium with a third object, then the two objects are also in thermal equilibrium with each other. The second law can be applied in the sense through the examples of Hadrian’s Wall, The Great China Wal, and the Berlin Wall. They show us that to control entropy (chaos and randomness), energy must be expended.

4. Inertia: It delineates how the hardest part of something is overcoming inertia. This can be applied through an individual overcoming their own beliefs and conviction to see other alternative possibilities. Most importantly, it is the concept of how an object will stay in play unless there is an external force in play. It challenges one to take action rather than wait for things to naturally sway to one’s preference/liking.

5. Friction & Viscosity: It shows how there must be a certain amount of force required to overcome in order to attain the desired outcome. It shows how it is vital to remove elements in one’s environment that increase friction.

6. Velocity: It sheds light on how it is more important to know where one is intending to head than the speed one is going.

7. Leverage: Understanding how attaining leverage is vital to one’s success and finding ways to achieve it.

8. Activation Energy: It elucidates the importance of creating lasting habits/changes rather than creating change. The concept is highly useful for habits and systems creation as it explains how one has to overcome the activation energy first in order to create lasting habits and systems. Bearing this in mind, it challenges one to put in the necessary consistent effort to create one’s desired lasting changes.

9. Catalyst: It shows how it is important to identify and use catalysts in different settings. Other than that, understanding not just the internal factors but rather the external factors that will catalyze one’s desired outcome.

10. Alloying: It elucidates the power of having different components being mixed together – creating something stronger/better in the process. Furthermore, it sheds light on how knowledge is achieved by having both experience and theory. Experience updates one theory while theory triggers new experiences. Hence, it is important to have both theory and experience.

11. Evolution Part One: Natural Selection and Extinction: It explains how natural selection chooses traits/features that increase one’s chances of survival. It also shows how there are generalists and specialists. Most importantly, it cautions one about the importance of competition and changes in one’s environment.

12. Evolution Part Two: Adaptation Rate and the Red Queen Effect: It shows how it is important to constantly adapt to one’s environment. Highlighting how strength leads to rigidity while adaptability leads to flexibility. Hence, it challenges one to always be adaptable by keeping an open mind and constantly learning.

13. Ecosystem: It delineates the importance of having an open ecosystem to promote innovation and improvements. It also shows how it is important to understand how everyone should understand their roles and how they contribute to the organization’s success.

14. Niches: It showcases the difference between being a generalist and a specialist. In a stable environment, specialist thrives while in an ever-changing environment, generalists are better position to adapt and survive.

15. Self-Preservation: Personally, it challenged the reader to not run from pain and challenges. But rather face them despite our primitive instincts of the fight, flight, or freeze kicks in.

16. Replication: Highlights the importance of diversity and having a successful formula that is rigid enough to be easily copied while flexible enough to be adapted.

17. Cooperation: The concept shows how cooperation helps to speed up progress and shows the importance of creating shared beliefs. The more encompassing shared beliefs are, the more will people forget that it is of human construct.

18. Hierarchical organization: There is a difference between authority and leadership and there are not mutually exclusive. In a modern era, success is achieved when the leader places the organization’s interests over their own and serves the members rather than thinking that he/she leads them.

19. Incentives: Incentives shape one’s behavior and it is vital to understand how incentives are in play in one’s everyday life. By understanding how incentives work through short-term gains, it is important to use them to one’s advantage. Furthermore, it shows the importance of not being short-sighted due to human nature’s need for immediate gratification. The tipping point is being able to think long-term and adjust one’s actions for it.

20. Tendency to minimize energy output: Human brains are set in an energy-minimizing mode. The law of least effort on cognitive and physical exertion applies to us. Hence, it is important to strike a balance between being effective and realizing when we are lazy. Our tendency to minimize energy output shows the importance of creating an environment/situation/actions that reduce the inertia for others to seek collaboration and interaction. It is to reduce the things in place that will cause cognitive and physical exertion. On an individual level, it is to understand how our brain works and not allow oneself to fall into laziness.

21. Competition: It shows how competition is a vital factor to drive innovation and improvements – explaining why monopolies are discouraged

22. Dunbar’s number: It elucidates the limit to the number of people one can maintain stable social relationships. 5 people consist of our partners, family, and best friends. 15 is for close friends that we know well even though we might not meet them very often. 50 people are usually our basic friends with some understanding of them. 150 people are those in our communities where we can place a name on their faces. 500 people are mutual friends who we know exist but do not know them. 1500 people are the limit to placing a name on a face. With this understanding, it advises one to ponder who would be in our 5, 15, 50, and so on.