My brother-in-law, Joel, and I like to debate.
We liked to debate so much, I fired up a discussion forum, invited other members of the Martin family, and threw ourselves into discourse.
This discourse is massive. Indeed, it could be its own book. We likely have hundreds of pages of discussion covering a wide variety of topics, but mostly religion, politics, and morality. A holy trinity of do-not-touch.
When typically don’t see eye to eye (that’s why it’s so fun). We argue a lot. Poking holes in each other’s statements, finding our own random anecdotes, and generally holding on to our views.
But I’m pretty sure we’re both growing. Sometimes we do change our minds. Often times we learn how to better articulate our stance.
When you are constantly debating, you start to ask why you think a certain way.
If for no other reason than the person you’re debating keeps pushing you towards that question.
To me, it’s more than just reacting to Joel’s points and questions. I want to know why HE thinks in certain ways. And why I find myself thinking through very specific beliefs and biases.
I would like to be less wrong in my thinking. I would like others to as well.
The Big Book of Mental Models
This brings me to this book. It’s a joy to read. An encyclopedia of mental models.
Over the next bit of time, I’m going to deconstruct each chapter and pull out key concepts and questions. One of my goals for 2022 is to learn more deeply. Learning why we’re pulled to think in certain ways seems like a good place to start.
Time to have fun!
