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Atlas Manual

Mental Model Master List (Simmons)

19 terms across 5 themes — every definition in the Atlas sourced from this manual, with executive examples and counter-moves.

19 of 19 terms
Mental Models · Strategy
3-Way Life Optimization

Basics first (health/finances), then depth (mastery/impact), then altruism (widening circle).

Mental Models · Strategy
Blotto Games

Allocating finite resources across many fronts when the opponent does the same — no dominant strategy exists.

Mental Models · Learning
Chunking (Cognitive)

Compressing many small patterns into one larger unit your mind treats as a single object.

Mental Models · Social
Circle of Empathy

Who do you count as fully human, deserving consideration?

Mental Models · Learning
Deliberate Practice

Targeted reps at the edge of your ability, with fast feedback, on a specific weakness.

Mental Models · Strategy
Goal Hierarchy Pyramid

Lifetime purpose → multi-year missions → annual goals → quarterly bets → weekly actions.

Mental Models · Learning
Hierarchy of Competence

Four stages from unconscious-incompetent to unconscious-competent.

Mental Models · Decision
Implementation Intentions

Pre-committing the exact when, where, and how of a behavior — 'if X, then Y.'

Mental Models · Decision
Kahneman's Three Conditions for Expert Intuition

Intuition is trustworthy only when the domain is regular, practice is plentiful, and feedback is fast.

Mental Models · Learning
Kegan Stages of Adult Development

Adults move through orders of mind: socialized → self-authoring → self-transforming.

Mental Models · Systems
Markov Convergence

Some processes converge to the same equilibrium regardless of where they started — history stops mattering.

Mental Models · Learning
OK Plateau

The point where a skill becomes 'good enough' and stops improving automatically.

Mental Models · Strategy
Pareto Top 1%

Pareto applied recursively: the top 1% of inputs produces ~50% of the output.

Mental Models · Strategy
Personal Theory of Change

A written model of how your specific leverage produces the outcome you care about.

Mental Models · Decision
Polarity Map

Some tensions aren't problems to solve — they're polarities to manage (centralize vs decentralize, structure vs freedom).

Mental Models · Social
Reality Distortion Field

A leader's conviction warps what others believe is possible — for better and for worse.

Mental Models · Social
Standing Ovation Model

Whether the room stands depends on thresholds and who can see whom — not on quality alone.

Mental Models · Learning
Testing Effect (Retrieval Practice)

Pulling information out of memory cements it better than passively re-reading it.

Mental Models · Learning
Thought Automation

Practicing a way of thinking until it runs without conscious effort.