Mental Models & Creativity

We live in a world of specialization.

Scottish economist, Adam Smith pioneered the idea of specialization in a free-market system. Smith highlighted that a group of workers will be far more productive if they specialized in one aspect of production. This is how our world works today. And that is why we look for specific skills and experience when hiring someone.

Some people among these 'specialists' will identify inefficiencies in the system and will find ways to make things - faster, better and cheaper. But this optimization will max out at some point. To take things to the next level, we need new thinking. 

But where does original thinking come from?

To generate new ideas, one needs to be a "generalist." Specialists are less likely to foster fresh thinking, as they often see things from only one angle. With too many fixed beliefs, biases, and assumptions, they are less inclined to question the status quo.

We've always known that two heads are better than one. By combining different perspectives, we can see problems from new angles.

Similarly, if we feed our brains with a variety of knowledge, we can view a problem from different viewpoints on our own. By drawing from diverse areas of knowledge, we can spark original ideas and approach challenges in creative ways.

An intellectually curious person who has travelled, who has met a variety of people, who listens, who has been in the trenches, who is well read, who has a range of interests, who loves to learn and experiment -  will generate lots of ideas. Some of those will be extraordinary!

But the problem with reading a lot is intellectual indigestion. You can get overwhelmed by the knowledge and may find it hard to make connections. That’s why we need mental models. It's a framework that helps you make sense of the world and see how things are connected.

As Charlie Munger says:

“You can't really know anything if you just remember isolated facts and try and bang 'em back. If the facts don't hang together on a latticework of theory, you don't have them in usable form”

Our world is large and complex. One cannot keep all the details in our brains. We need mental models - which is a representation of how things work.

Some common mental models are - First Principle thinking, Inversion, Occum’s razor etc. [Please explore the internet to learn more]

We need people who can simplify and model the various sub-worlds to develop an understanding of "How The World Works". These generalist can see the connections between the sub-systems of our world and therefore can foster innovation through cross-breeding of ideas.

This is one way of bringing new thinking into our work and creating new opportunities.

In Summary -

Feed your brain with diverse inputs, develop a way to warehouse this knowledge (build your latticework of mental models), cross-connect and generate new ideas.

PS: I have observed that the best thinking happens when we’re on the move. Walking at a comfortable pace is one of the best ways to spark creativity.

It’s funny, but we often get new ideas while taking a shower.