Hello there,

This week, I came across this video , about personalizing mental models that made me realize personalisation is important to get the most out of mental models.

In fact, it made me understand that it isn’t enough to just have a list of mental models, you need to adapt them to your own unique life situation to make them useful. You can’t just memorise a list, you need to identify the relevant ones and modify them.

But what that video made me realise is that this concept of personalization applies to other areas of life. With my newfound perspective, I have found examples from other areas of life.

Innovation and Technology

According to the diffusion theory in the Diffusion of Innovations book, technology/innovations are more widely accepted if it can be personalized by users.

Fitness

In this podcast , an interview by Tim Ferriss and Dr. Peter Attia talks about how if you give someone an index card of workouts to do, they will not do it but if give them the tools to build their own routine, they are more likely to.

P.S. Every workout routine that I have ever been given, I almost never complete, not until I make my own changes to it.

Ideas and Understanding

When trying to either teach or discuss new ideas, it’s always advised that we let people come to their own decisions. It’s better to lay out the facts and let them come to their own conclusions, rather than forcing ours on them.

I think this is because to effectively learn, we must make personal connections to our own memories.

Final Thoughts

This was a pretty critical discovery for me, because it framed my thinking when I communicate ideas or thoughts to other people. I often want to walk people through everything, but this concept has made me realise that the better approach would be to lay out all my thoughts and let them make their own decisions and opinions. They cannot skip the hard work of learning or understanding.

It really made me understand that people must take ownership of something before they embrace it.

Thanks for reading.

Have a great weekend

Braden

Updates

Associative Vs Additive Design

I have been struggling to explain to people why they should be using Grasshopper as a tool. After 4 years of trying, I think I found a way to explain it.

Shifting from traditional to computational design →