Sniffnoy comments on Mental Models - Less Wrong
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Comments (21)
(Agree with what you are saying and add my take on it.)
I would say that the concept is explored, but this nomenclature isn't established as a dominant standard (nor expressed powerfully in this post). Part of the problem is that the post is written submissively and by an author without established status. We don't feel obligated to engage with him inside his way of carving reality, even though it isn't particularly controversial in describing how things work.
We already have the word map of 'map is not the territory' fame. The way (specific to human) 'Mental Models' would differ from and perhaps constitute maps of the territory is something that would need to be explored. But as you say we just don't seem to have the motivation to do so. The author acknowledges this in the first paragraph. In fact, that very paragraph more or less primes us to be unmotivated to explore while the final paragraph unintentionally gives us an excuse not to do so!
Is "mental model" not an ordinary/transparent term? Is "map" actually any different?
A map is generally a specific sort of model, but not all models are maps. It's much harder to extend the map metaphor into something that actually resembles human thought processes.
I took it to be more specific. A reference to the way humans actually build and internally represent the abstractions that they use as a map.
I don't think I'm really clear on what sort of map would not constitute a mental model.
Say... one represented as a lookup table the size of Jupiter, for example. We don't think like that.