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

Sometimes the survival of a group can require the sacrifice of certain members. The survival of some species is contingent on sacrifices within the breeding process. This is known as kin selection and is a form of natural selection concerning populations, not individuals or individual lineages.

the human timescale, adaptability is about recognizing when the way you have done things in the past is becoming less and less successful in a changing environment.

When it comes to offices, open-plan layouts don’t reduce overall energy expenditure. They may make it easier to move around, but they vastly increase the effort needed to focus and get work done—which are what matters most in an office.

The relevance of mass has analogous application in our habits. The longer we’ve been doing something, the more it has become part of both our identity and our understanding of the world. Thus, the amount of effort required to change a habit is greater proportional to the length of time we’ve had it. What is true for the individual is also true for

Furthermore, people talking in an open office have no control over who is listening and who isn’t. They can’t form strong, one-on-one social ties. Social interactions become more superficial and performative when there’s always an audience.

Life is an iterative and compounding game. In the words of Peter Kaufman, it pays to “go positive and go first.” Also, remember that people make mistakes. Assuming there is no maliciousness, it pays to forgive.