Perhaps the most powerful attribute that differentiates homo sapiens from other mammals and explains our dominance is the ability to create abstractions. Abstractions allow us to learn and communicate complex concepts over time. They allow us to pass down knowledge so that progeny can build upon what was learned. There are four primary families of mental models. 

The first involves decision-making frameworks. There are hundreds of such frameworks that have been documented over the years. I explore many of them in my writings. What they all have in common though is the aim of achieving three objectives. Focus is the elimination of distractions. Prioritization is the ranking of exclusivity. Conscious acknowledgement of tradeoffs recognizes scarcity and establishes risk assessment.

The second family of mental models is the application of the known laws of nature. Humans are created with the same atoms as stars. Every particle in our bodies was once in a fiery nebula. The properties of protons and electrons and neutrinos, the strong and weak nuclear forces, spin, ionization, magnetism, gravity, entropy, friction, vibrations, etc. do not stop because you think you’re special. We are not used to applying these concepts to relationships, health, and personal finances. But we ignore them at our peril.

Analogies is the third family. These are infinite in number as the human mind can create “like” comparisons of almost anything. Analogies are powerful tools to assist in finding truths. When one thing is “like” another thing in some aspect, it reveals to us an underlying truth. The more connections we can make to these truths, the more clear those truths become. The lifecycle of analogies often results in wisdom.

Finally, there are first principles. These are irreducible primaries and are equivalent in their permanence to the laws of nature. In fact, the laws of nature are first principles. I choose to make a distinction from the physical laws we test in a laboratory to emphasize the a priori irreducible truths we understand through reason. We might think of them as the Laws of Existence.

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