The Great Mental Models, Volume 3: Systems and Mathematics

By Shane Parrish, Rhiannon Beaubien, Rosie Leizrowice

The third volume of The Great Mental Models gathers useful ideas from systems thinking and mathematics. The authors explain feedback loops, equilibrium, bottlenecks, scale, margin of safety, churn, algorithms, critical mass, emergence, compounding, sampling, randomness, regression to the mean, multiplying by zero, equivalence, surface area and global and local maxima. Through stories from history, science and business, the book shows how these models reveal hidden patterns and help readers think more clearly about complex problems.