Canonical · Mental Models · Model

Inversion

Carl Jacobi / Charlie Munger · 1985

"Solve problems backwards. Ask how to fail, then avoid it."

The idea

Jacobi's advice was 'invert, always invert.' Instead of asking how to succeed, ask how to guarantee failure — then don't do those things. It's often easier to identify what will kill you than what will save you.

Why it works

The takeaway — recall it first

Mental Models: The Best Way to Make Intelligent Decisions

"Reliable judgment comes from holding a 'latticework' of the most important ideas across disciplines — psychology, economics, physics, biology — rather than mastering just one, since any single-discipline lens reliably misses something a real situation depends on."

Farnam Street (Shane Parrish) · EssayContinue→