What Tim Urban thinks about mental models

@tim-urban · 25 positions · 0 changes of mind

Writer and illustrator behind Wait But Why, a long-form blog of stick-figure-illustrated explainers on science, technology and society, and author of the book What's Our Problem?

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Only Tim Urban on mental models. See everyone on mental models

2 dated positions, 2015, in their own words. Our reading of what Tim Urban has said — not written or endorsed by them.

2 positions so far — this page is not yet offered to search engines.

1. 6 Nov 2015

   Our readingReasoning from first principles means gathering only what one knows to be true and building a conclusion from it.

   Their wordsA scientist gathers together only what he or she knows to be true—the first principles—and uses those as the puzzle pieces with which to construct a conclusion.

   ↗The Cook and the Chef: Musk’s Secret Saucewaitbutwhy.com 1st of 11 in this piece

3. 6 Nov 2015

   Our readingReasoning from first principles means taking the basic raw ingredients as the building blocks and working upward from them.

   taste

   Their wordsThe chef reasons from first principles, and for the chef, the first principles are raw edible ingredients. Those are her puzzle pieces, her building blocks, and she works her way upwards from there, using her experience, her instincts, and her taste buds.

   ↗The Cook and the Chef: Musk’s Secret Saucewaitbutwhy.com 4th of 11 in this piece