Three Filters Needed to Think Through Problems

"Most geniuses—especially those who lead others—prosper not by deconstructing intricate complexities but by exploiting unrecognized simplicities."

When we're don't have any expertise in a domain, most of the time the chosen approach the one that helps you avoid stupidity.

We don't have to be geniuses in every domain, but we have to be able to understand the big ideas of most disciplines and try to avoid fooling ourselves.

It is to understand reality and human nature as it really is, without premature, impulsive judgment.

Mental filters help you understand reality by improving your capacity to analyze the statements of experts, promoters, and persuaders of all kinds.

This is the first filter through which we should interpret reality.

Consider this question: "What do the words really mean?" Keep in mind the fact that Language is not just a way to communicate or interpret; language is a call to action or an inhibitor to action.

It is translated into numerical fluency: our capacity to count, calculate, and balance values is important to understanding the statements of experts or evaluate any problem rationally.

This filter assists us in understand the layers of unexpected consequences. The question to keep in mind here is: “And then what?”

We may really understand a statement, we may quantify the effects of a proposed solution, but it is very important to also consider the second layer of effects or beyond.