The Great Mental Models Volume 2: Physics, Chemistry and Biology

Part of what allowed him to move fast while on this campaign was “a profound study of the history and geography of Italy before he ever set foot there [and] his willingness to experiment with other’s ideas.”5 He developed expertise of the territory which gave him flexibility, and he chose his path so as to maintain as constant a velocity as possibl

Creating lasting change is harder than creating change. Don’t underestimate the activation energy required to not only break apart existing bonds, but to create new, strong ones. Some reactions are not quick, and all take some degree of effort. Trying to accurately estimate the activation energy required means you’re less likely to quit too early.

There are three main types of physical levers: Force/Fulcrum/Weight, such as using a crowbar to open a door. Fulcrum/Weight/Force, such as a wheelbarrow. Fulcrum/Force/Weight, like a baseball bat.

Moving fast toward his objectives actually obviated potential obstacles, because the Austrians didn’t have time to put any up.

Acknowledgments

And finally, thanks to you, the reader. I continue to be amazed by how many of you want to take this mental models journey with me. I hope this book is one you can reference time and again as you seek to better understand the world.

Newton’s second law, relating force to acceleration, which show us that mass matters when it comes to inertia. When a force acts on an object, the object accelerates in the direction of the force. If mass stays the same, increasing force will increase acceleration. If the force on an object remains constant, increasing mass will decrease accelerati

For example, if you place a book on a table and give it a push, it will move a bit then stop. The kinetic friction absorbs the energy you transfer to the book in the push. Static friction, on the other hand, occurs when an object is stationary; it’s what prevents it from moving.

It helps us understand randomness and disorder in systems and explains the conversion of energy from one form to another, the direction in which heat will flow, and the availability of energy to do work. One of the most useful aspects of thermodynamics is that it applies to all systems everywhere in the known universe, giving it a broad applicabili

The theory of relativity is founded on empathy. Not empathy in the ordinary emotional sense; empathy in a rigorous scientific sense. The crucial idea is to imagine how things would appear to someone who’s moving in a different way than you are.»