Some twbh History and a Book Recommendation

Right before I declared failure on the first iteration of This Will Be Hard, I started a series designed to encapsulate the tools I use when I’m consciously trying to think better. This concept is more commonly called Mental Models, which I think was originally coined by Charlie Munger. I hoped by writing a series on what I have learned I could cement it better in my head, and at the same time, maybe I could help one of you.

This was good motivation until I heard Shane Parrish interview Gabriel Weinberg (the DuckDuckGo founder). They were discussing his book about mental models, which I thought sounded pretty good. I ordered it and started reading a little bit every morning. And it was great.

It was so good that I realized that this book largely accomplished what I’d hoped to do on This Will Be Hard, and while I was energized by the book, in general, I was demotivated to write. Strangely, this didn’t bother me. I seem to want to write when my mind is unsettled or I want to learn. I was happy on both counts, and therefore, I no longer felt compelled to write. For a while, at least.

I’d like to encourage everyone to read Super Thinking by Gabriel Weinberg and Lauren McCann. If money is tight—because of pandemic or life reasons—send an email to me at potatowire·com, and I’ll buy it for you. If I don’t have you convinced yet, try the podcast I alluded to earlier.

One last recommendation, buy the paper book, not the ebook. It is much easier to internalize the lessons of a book like this when you have the physical article. I think this is due to the place association a real book offers, which can’t be replicated by a Kindle or iDevice. Plus, it’s a lot easier to flip back and forth, and this material rewards that behavior.