THE
LATTICEWORK
Welcome to the Latticework
This is a compendium of laws, rules, models, theories, heuristics, and observations about the world around us. We have compiled this latticework to help with general thinking concepts and decision making.
Mental models are a framework of tools to help you think better. Learning to adeptly implement mental models into your everyday thinking will help you avoid the pitfalls of life.
Sticking to that which we understand and avoiding decisions outside of our expertise.
The first basis from which a thing is known, a basic assumption or idea that cannot be deduced any further.
Incentives influence outcomes. Show me the incentive, I’ll show you the outcome.
One should not attribute to malice that which is more easily explained by stupidity or ignorance.
The practice of turning a problem upside down and starting from another point. Invert, always invert.
Simple explanations are more likely to be correct than complicated ones.
Premortem
A type of thought experiment where you imagine an endeavor has failed and you then try to determine what could lead to that failure.
Postmortem
Process at the conclusion of an endeavor to analyze elements that were successful and unsuccessful.
Probabilistic Thinking
Estimating the likelihood of an outcome or various outcomes.
Second-Order Thinking
Considers the knock-on effects of a decision. Basically, determining the effects of effects.
Spectral
Thinking
Considering classifications on a continuum.
Start Then
Optimize
Starting an endeavor helps you overcome the effects of inertia and allows you to fail quickly in order to optimize.
Start with the Definition
Language is fluid and certain words/phrases mean different things to different people. Identify common ground in order to have meaningful conversations.
The Map is not the Territory
Using representations (maps) of complex things is immensely helpful, but limited.
Thought Experiments
A method of speculating on future consequences of decisions made today.
Biases affect how you interpret and process information. Biases are generally accepted to be impossible to eliminate; however, they can be mitigated. Biases are much easier spotted in other people than in ourselves, so it is important to have advisors and confidants to help you identify biases in your thinking.
Action Bias
We favor action over inaction.
Anchoring Bias
We are tethered to the first piece of information.
Attentional Bias
We can only focus on so many things at a time.
Bandwagon Effect
We are influenced by the preferences of others.
Bystander Effect
Individuals are less likely to offer assistance to a victim when there are other people present.
Commitment Bias
We tend to remain committed to endeavors despite information suggesting abandonment is preferential.
Confirmation
Bias
We seek information that confirms an idea or belief we already have.
Dunning-Kruger Effect
People with low ability/knowledge overestimate their ability/knowledge.
Familiarity
Bias
We prefer that with which we are familiar over the unfamiliar.
Framing
Bias
We are influenced by the manner in which options are presented to us.
Hindsight
Bias
We convince ourselves after an event that we knew the outcome all along.
Kantian Fairness Tendency
The pursuit of perfect fairness in life.
Loss Aversion Bias
A loss feels worse than a gain feels good.
Optimism Bias
A tendency to believe we are less likely to experience a negative event.
The tendency to judge the quality of a decision based only on its outcome.
Pessimism
Bias
A tendency to believe we are more likely to experience a negative event.
Reason Respecting Tendency
We tend to want reasons for something but don’t care to understand the reasoning iteself.
Recency
Bias
We overweight the likelihood of recent events happening again over other historic events.
Rosy Retrospection Bias
We judge the past more favorably than we judge the present.
Self-Serving
Bias
We can tend to perceive ourselves in an overly favorable manner.
Status Quo
Bias
We prefer things the way they are over change.
Survivorship Bias
We examine information of those who prevailed while excluding those who failed.
Ad Hominem
Fallacy
A tactic where instead of addressing an argument, idea, or issue, you personally attack your opponent.
Anecdotal Evidence Fallacy
Making an argument based on evidence collected in a non-scientific manner.
Appeal to Authority Fallacy
Insisting a claim is true simply because an authority or expert on the manner said so.
Baconian
Fallacy
Using pieces of historical evidence to make a general truth about the past.
Burden of Proof Fallacy
Insisting that a claim is correct if it cannot be disproved by others. AKA appeal to ignorance fallacy.
Converse Accident
Fallacy
Using a bad example to make a generalization.
Correlation & Causation Fallacy
Arguing that because ‘A’ is correlated to ‘B’, ‘A’ must cause ‘B’.
Definist
Fallacy
Defining one thing in terms of another.
Fallacy
Fallacy
Insisting that because an argument contains a fallacy it must be false.
False Dilemma Fallacy
A statement constructed to only indicate two potential options instead of considering additional options.
False Equivalence Fallacy
Where two different things that share something in common are treated as the same (e.g. apples and oranges).
Gambler's
Fallacy
Belief that if a particular event occurs more frequently than normal during the past then it is more likely to happen in the future, or vice versa (hot/cold streaks).
Hasty Generalization Fallacy
A general statement made based on an insufficient or unrepresentative sample of data.
Middle Ground Fallacy
Arguing that a compromise between two extreme or conflicting views is true.
No True Scotsman Fallacy
An attempt to protect a universal generalization from counterexamples by changing the definition in an ad hoc fashion to exclude the counterexample.
Personal Incredulity Fallacy
Asserting that a proposition must be false because it contradicts one’s personal expectations or beliefs, or is difficult to imagine.
Petitio
Principii
A fallacy of circular argument; the conclusion is taken for granted in the premises.
Post Hoc Ergo Propter Hoc
If ‘A’ follows ‘B’, then ‘A’ caused ‘B’.
Red Herring
Fallacy
Introducing an irrelevant topic into a discussion with the intention of diverting attention away from the main topic.
Slippery Slope Fallacy
Asserting that a certain action will cause a series of events that lead to a bad outcome.
Slothful Induction Fallacy
Insisting that an outcome is due to chance when the evidence/likelihood suggests otherwise. AKA appeal to coincidence.
Straw Man
Fallacy
A tactic where someone takes someone else’s argument and exaggerates or distorts it in order to make it easier to attack.
Sunk Cost
Fallacy
Arguing that an endeavor is worth continuing because certain costs have already been put into it.
Tu Quoque
Fallacy
An attack on a person’s behavior when it is inconsistent with their argument; the argument of hypocrisy.
Rhetoric
Rhetoric is the art of persuasion and influence through the use of argument. Aristotle defined rhetoric as the ability to see what is possibly persuasive in every given case.
Adianoeta
The figure of a hidden meaning.
Anadiplosis
A figure that builds one thought on top of another by taking the last word of a clause and using it to begin the next clause.
Anaphora
A figure that repeats the first word in succeeding phrases or clauses. It works best in an emotional address before a crowd.
Anthropomorphism
A logical fallacy that attributes human traits to a nonhuman creature or object. Common to owners of pets.
Antithesis
The figure of contrasting ideas.
Aporia
Doubt or ignorance – feigned or real – used as a rhetorical device.
Chiasmus
A rhetorical figure where words or concepts are repeated in reverse order, either in the same or modified form.
Circumlocution
The use of many words in the attempt to be purposefully vague to avoid getting to the point.
Concessio
Conceding to seem to agree with your opponent, only to use it to your advantage.
Deliberative Rhetoric
Juxtaposes potential future outcomes to communicate either support or opposition.
Demonstrative Rhetoric
Persuasion (usually in the present) that deals with values that bring a group together (epideictic).
Dialectic
Logical dialogue with the purpose of discovering the truth.
Dialogismus
A dialogue figure; quoting a conversation as an example.
Dialysis
This-is-not-that figure; presenting of either-or arguments that lead to a conclusion.
Diazeugma
A play-by-play where a single subject is accompanied by multiple verbs.
Disinterest
Freedom from special interests; a trait of ethos (eunoia).
Dubitatio
Feigned doubt about your ability to speak well.
Enargia
A visually powerful description that creates a vivid image in the mind of the audience.
Enthymeme
An argument in which one premise is not explicitly stated but rather implied.
Epergesis
Interposing an apposition or correction, often to clarify what has just been stated.
Equivocation
A figure that appears to say one thing while meaning the opposite.
Eristic
A competitive argument for the sake of argument.
Ethos
Argument by character.
Example
Amplifying a point by providing a true or feigned samples.
Forensic Rhetoric
Argument that determines guilt or innocence; usually focuses on the past.
Hypophora
A figure that asks a rhetorical question and then immediately answers it.
Idiom
A group of words that put together form a non-literal meaning (e.g. speak of the devil).
Ignoratio Elenchi
Proving the wrong conclusion.
Innuendo
A technique for planting a negative idea in the audience’s mind through allusive remarks or hints.
Kairos
Seizing the moment through proper use of timing and medium.
Litotes
The figure of ironic understatement; usually negative.
Logos
Argument by logic.
Metanoia
Self-correcting figure; you stop to correct yourself with a stronger point.
Metaphor
A figure that makes a word or phrase represent something else.
Metastasis
A figure that skips over an awkward or unpleasant matter.
Metonymy
Substituting an attribute for the thing itself (e.g. suit instead of executive).
Neologism
A newly created word.
Non Sequitur
A statement that doesn’t logically follow the previous statement.
Onomotopoeia
A figure that imitates a sound to name the sound.
Paradigm
A model that arises from examples or patterns.
Paradox
A self-contradictory statement.
Paralipsis
A figure in which you mention something by saying you aren’t going to mention it.
Paraprosdokian
A figure that attaches a surprise ending to a thought.
Pathos
Argument by emotion.
Periphrasis
The use of indirect speech; it uses description as a name.
Phronesis
Practical wisdom; street smarts.
Polysyndeton
A device that uses multiple repetitions of the same conjunctions (most commonly “and”).
Prolepsis
A figure that anticipates an opponent’s or audience’s objections.
Prosopopoeia
A figure in which an abstract thing is personified or an absent person is represented as speaking.
Quibbling
Deliberatively using language to obfuscate.
Reductio Ad Absurdum
Taking an opponent’s argument to its illogical conclusion.
Significato
A benign form of innuendo that implies more than it says.
Solecism
A figure of ignorance where one uses a grammatical mistake.
Syncrisis
A figure that reframes an argument by redefining it.
Synecdoche
A figure in which a part is made to represent the whole, or vice versa.
Tautology
Saying the same thing twice but in different words.
Game Theory
Game theory is a set of tools used to help analyze situations where an individual’s best course of action depends on what others do or are expected to do. It is useful whenever there is strategic interaction between yourself and others.
Common Knowledge
Information that all participants know and all participants know all the other participants know it too.
Faustian Bargain
A pact where a person trades something of moral or spiritual importance for a material benefit.
Finite Games
A game with agreed upon rules and timeframe.
Infinite Games
A game where there are no agreed upon rules; the goal is to keep the game going.
Missionary
Someone who makes unknown or private knowledge public; creates common knowledge.
Nash Equilibrium
A rational player chooses the best action given what the other player is doing.
Negative Sum Game
A game in which the total gains and losses is less than zero.
Pareto Efficiency
A situation where no individual or group can be better off without making at least one other individual or other group worse off.
Positive Sum Game
A game in which the total gains and losses is greater than zero.
Prisoner's
Dilemma
A situation where two parties choose to protect themselves at the expense of the other party. It often does not produce the optimal outcome that working together would achieve.
Tit for
Tat
A strategy in which each participant mimics the action of their opponent. It emphasizes cooperation.
Tragedy of the Commons
A situation in a shared-resource system where individual users, acting independently according to their own self interest, behave contrary to the common good of all users by depleting or spoiling the shared resource through their collective action.
Variable Reinforcement
Partial reinforcement where a portion of actions are reinforced. There is no consistent pattern.
Winner's
Curse
Commonly the product of emotional bidding where the winner gets the asset that was on auction but at the expense of overpaying.
Zero Sum
Game
A situation where each participant’s gain or loss is exactly balanced by the other participants. If one person wins, the other loses.
Mathematics
Mathematics is the language of numbers and the science of their operations, interrelations, combinations, and generalizations.
Algebraic Equivalence
The abstract mathematical means to show two different things as being equal.
Constants
A fixed value or a number not tied to a variable.
Derivation
The rate of change of a function with respect to a variable. The opposite of an integral.
Geometry
The branch of math concerned with the size, shape, and angles of lines/rays.
Integration
The approximate area under a curvilinear region by breaking the region into infinite vertical bars. The opposite of a derivative.
Multiplying by Zero
The product of any number – regardless of how large the number is – multiplied by zero is always zero.
Physics
The natural science that studies matter, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force.
Acceleration
A change in speed and/or direction.
Conservation of Energy
Energy is neither created nor destroyed, it is transformed from one form to another or transferred from one system to another.
Critical Mass
The minimum amount of fissile material needed to maintain a nuclear chain reaction.
Electricity
A from of energy resulting from the existence of charged particles.
Electromagnetism
Magnetism developed by a current of electricity.
Energy
The capacity for doing work. Some forms of energy include: potential, kinetic, electrical, chemical, nuclear, and thermal.
Entropy
A measure of the amount of disorder in a system.
Friction
The resistance that one surface/object encounters when moving over another.
Gravity
The universal force of attraction between matter.
Kinetic Energy
Energy in an object by virtue of it being in motion. Equal to 1/2 mass multiplied by the squared velocity.
Leverage
The ability through the use of tools to use a small amount of power to gain a disproportionately greater advantage on the outcome.
Magnetism
A physical phenomenon where fields that attract or repel other objects.
Momentum
The product of an object’s velocity and mass. Includes magnitude and direction.
Newton's First Law of Motion
Inertia. An object in motion tends to stay in motion; an object at rest tends to stay at rest.
Newton's Second Law of Motion
The force on an object is equal to its mass multiplied by its acceleration.
Newton's Third Law of Motion
For every action, there is an equal an opposite reaction.
Potential Energy
Energy stored in an object due to its relative position. Equal to the product of mass, the gravitational acceleration, and the height of the object.
Power
The amount of energy transferred or converted per unit of time; equal to work divided by time.
Surface Tension
The resistance of a liquid’s surface to an external force; caused by cohesive forces between liquid molecules.
Speed
A scalar distance per unit of time; direction is not included.
Temperature
The measure of atomic particle kinetic energy (movement).
Thermodynamics: Zeroth Law
If two bodies are each in thermal equilibrium with some third body, then they are also in equilibrium with each other.
Thermodynamics: First Law
The total increase in energy of a system is equal to the increase in thermal energy plus the work done on the system.
Thermodynamics: Second Law
Heat energy cannot be transferred from a body at a lower temperature to a body at a higher temperature without the addition of energy.
Thermodynamics: Third Law
A system’s entropy approaches a constant value as its temperature approaches absolute zero.
Time
Indefinite continued progress of existence and events. Still much to discover, but the passage of time is influenced by mass, distance, and speed.
Torque
The rotational equivalent of linear force.
Velocity
A vector distance per unit of time; direction is included.
Viscosity
The measure of a fluid’s resistance to flow.
Work
The measure of energy transfer that occurs when an object is moved over a distance by an external force. At least part of the force has to be in the direction of displacement.
Engineering/Systems
Systems are a set of things working together to varying degrees to perform a task. Engineering is the branch of science concerned with technology, designing, building, and use of complex products and systems.
Antifragility
Benefitting from disorder. Might suffer from order.
Complex Adaptive Systems
Dynamic systems where the whole cannot necessarily be predicted/understood by simply knowing its components.
Checklists
Items listed (oftentimes in order of chronological importance) to help in the proper completion of an endeavor.
Constraints
A limitation or restriction.
Equilibrium
A state of balance in a system.
Feedback Loops
A process in which the outputs of a system influence the inputs.
Flywheels
A heavy wheel that is used to increase momentum. Also a concept in business to create systems that generate momentum.
Fragility
Suffering from disorder. Might benefit from order.
Homeostasis
The tendency to move towards equilibrium (balance).
Network Effect
The system is improved exponentially as the number of participants/features increases.
Path of Least Resistance
The tendency to do the easy thing.
Quality Control
A process in which testing and reviews are conducted to ensure a product or service meets specific requirements.
Redundancy
The inclusion of extra components that are not necessary to functioning, but they provide the ability to overcome failures.
Safety Factor
Intentionally exceeding a calculation in the attempt to cover unforeseen risks/events.
Separation
A technique of keeping parts of a system apart from each other to prevent malfunctions spreading between or among them.
Economics
Economics is the branch of knowledge concerned with the production, consumption, and transfer of wealth.
Deflation
Purchasing value of money increases; less money is needed to pay for things.
Gresham's Law
Bad money drives out good money.
Inflation
Purchasing value of money decreases; more money is needed to pay for things.
Opportunity Cost
The loss of the benefit that could have been enjoyed had a given choice not been made.
Scarcity
The result of the gap between limited resources and limitless wants.
Supply and Demand
A model that determines a price point where the quantity of a good demanded will equal the quantity of the good supplied.
