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How Thinking Slowly Can Boost Your Cognition and Success
Timeless lessons from Charlie Munger and Bill Gates we could all benefit from.
Josh Kaufman’s book, The Personal MBA begins with this:
“I’ve long believed that a certain system — which almost any intelligent person can learn — works way better than the systems most people use [to understand the world]. What you need is a latticework of mental models in your head. And, with that system, things gradually fit together in a way that enhances cognition. Just as multiple factors shape every system, multiple mental models from a variety of disciplines are necessary to understand that system … You have to realize the truth of biologist Julian Huxley’s idea that “Life is just one damn relatedness after another.” So you must have all the models, and you must see the relatedness and the effects from the relatedness.”
The quote is from Charlie Munger.
It is a compelling argument for systems thinking. Breathtakingly clear; the lesson it delivers — a certain system of mental models can enhance cognition.
And yet, despite there being reams of information available online, we miss the most important lesson.
It’s a lesson not included in the quote above. But it is one you’ll find in most studies of how Charlie and his business partner, Warren Buffett work together.
They give themselves time to think.
Thinking Slowly
Our best thinking has always occurred slowly.
Bill Gates has a twice-yearly ‘think week’, to do just this.
For seven days, he retreats to a secret two-story cabin in the Pacific Northwest. Secluded, he reads, thinks, and takes notes.
It is alone time for Bill.
No family, no friends, or employees.
It gives Bill time to digest what he is reading. But also to take the insights he has learnt and think about how to apply them to his world. He is using his latticework of mental models to identify the relatedness of new and old information. The upside is clear to see, given that Bill was doing this long before the turn of the century.
