Frames empower us because they focus our mind. When they work well, they highlight the essential things and let us disregard the rest.

Einstein reframed physics by showing that time, long considered constant, is actually relative.

In our thoughts, we frequently run through a myriad of possibilities of how the world might be different, playing the game of life several moves ahead. Counterfactuals are a way to see beyond the reality that surrounds us. Without this ability to imagine “what could have been,” “what has been,” and “what could be,” we would be forever stuck in the

The minimal-change principle pushes us in a particular direction when picking counterfactuals: we tend to omit rather than add. It is easier for us to imagine a world without some features of reality than to introduce ones that do not yet exist. If you are asked to imagine a color you haven’t seen before, you likely will fail.

Framing is a process—a method that guides the human mind toward understanding, imagination, and the evaluation of options.

Humans think using mental models. These are representations of reality that make the world comprehensible. They allow us to see patterns, predict how things will unfold, and make sense of the circumstances we encounter.

They were bicycle experts, after all. Just as a cycle is inherently unstable but can be balanced and controlled by the rider when in motion, so too it was crucial that a plane could be controlled and balanced by a flier in the air.

Counterfactual thinking is crucial to progress. People can envision what does not exist, as a way to understand the actual world and conceive of how it might be different. We do this by asking what-if questions. Our imaginings need not be meaningless daydreams; they are an essential precursor for action, an element of our preparation to make

Put in the context of framing: as humans explain the world using causal frames, they are actually learning more about the world they are explaining, generating deeper and more accurate insights. Explaining the world to others leads to understanding it better oneself. The finding has direct application to education and parenting: get kids to explain