The Essence of Models Thinking

Fragments from imaginary dialogues

“What is the essence of Models Thinking?”

“Looking at an instance and extracting a general principle that has practical application.

Let’s take an example. What do all these have in common?

Every moment is a fresh beginning. (T. S. Eliot)

Empty your cup.

Beginner’s Mind

I don’t know.

“

“I don’t know.”

“The first one is something we’ve talked about before. As you may recall, I’m using this quote as a tool for recovering balance. What I called the ‘mental reset‘ [<link; medium length].

The quote is the instance. The general principle – the (metaphoric) model – is resetting, returning to a balanced, more resourceful / receptive state.

The model is an interpretative key, a filter.

On the surface, the four I listed have nothing in common. Viewed through the filter however, all of them become mantras, mental tools for recovering balance, each with their own subtle nuance.”

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