Models of Reality

All understanding is mediated through models—simplified representations that capture some features of reality while ignoring others. 'All models are wrong, but some are useful' (George Box). The map is not the territory (Korzybski). No model perfectly represents reality; the question is which simplification is most useful for which purpose. The danger is forgetting that your model IS a model—mistaking the map for the territory, the menu for the meal. Multiple models applied to the same reality reveal different truths.

When to use it

When any single framework seems to explain everything (it's hiding something); when experts from different disciplines disagree (they're using different models); when you're making high-stakes decisions based on analytical models; when you notice yourself treating a theory as if it were reality itself.

How it can help

For any important decision, ask: what model am I using, and what does it leave out? Every framework, theory, and mental model is a lens that reveals some features while hiding others. Financial models ignore human dynamics; psychological models ignore structural economics; both are true and both are incomplete. The Munger lattice approach—using multiple models from multiple disciplines—works precisely because each model's blind spots are covered by other models' strengths.