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The Great Mental Models Vol. 3 Systems and Mathematics notes and summary
This is part 3 (and I think last) of “The Great Mental Models” series by Farnam Street. I previously read (and summarised) Vol 2.
On feedback loops:
“Restauranteurs know that the more customers you seat, the more will come in the door. This is why they will seat the first patrons of the evening close to the windows and why they don’t mind a line of people waiting to be seated … the more people there are signalling their interest in the restaurant, the greater the reinforcing feedback loop communicating how great their restaurant is”. An information cascade
On equilibrium:
We always plan for a future equilibrium that won’t exist (some always think about the equilibrium they enjoyed in the past), but equilibrium, in physics and in our minds, is momentary.
On scale:
“Sometimes when longevity is the goal, staying small and simple can be a superpower”
“If you want to scale something up, you need to anticipate that new problems will keep arising — problems that didn’t exist at a smaller scale. Or you might need to keep solving the same problems in different ways”:
On margin of safety:
