
Using Models to Stay Calm in Charged Situations - yarapavan
https://fs.blog/2020/03/models-charged-situations/
======
jvanderbot
"Mental Models" is a wonderful rebranding of plain old wisdom and experience.

" The next helpful model is relativity, adapted from the laws of physics. This
model is about remembering that everyone’s perspective is different from
yours. "

The only mental model at play here is the idea that your mind benefits from
mental models and that we need an easily-referenced ontology of models brought
to us in blog posts.

~~~
apatters
It's just not a great article. Farnam Street is popping up on HN all the time
these days. They had one article a while back which I liked enough to add
their RSS feed to my reader (can't remember which one), but to be frank, I
think everything I've read from that site since then has disappointed, and
I've since removed them.

Seriously, there is no value to internalizing a rule like "think the same way
that the theory of general relativity would." It doesn't even make sense. This
is low grade pop psych.

When passions are running high, the first thing you should do before making
decisions is cool down. You don't need a novel mental model you just need to
take a break and wait for everyone's emotions (and the accompanying stress
hormones, which suppress rational thinking) to subside. That's a better mental
model than anything in this article.

~~~
forkexec
I seems like a clickbait title with vapid, filler content using HN as an
advertising platform. If it sinks to the depths of terrible, flagging it at
the top is a possible response.

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forkexec
First thing, try to defuse it with humor. It's free unless the IRS gets wind
of you practicing unlicensed silliness.

If you want to stay calm in a high-risk situation, try tactical breathing
first.[0] Worry about playing with "mental models" second.

Another technique soldiers use in war is to assume they are dead until the war
ends. It's much less stressful and more survivable. Also, there's no point
worrying about things that are actually far beyond one's own control.

Another point to consider is the calmest individual typically has the most
power in an interaction and has the advantage of clearest thinking.

 _Beware the fury of a patient man._ \- John Dryden

0\. [https://www.med.navy.mil/sites/nmcphc/Documents/health-
promo...](https://www.med.navy.mil/sites/nmcphc/Documents/health-promotion-
wellness/psychological-emotional-wellbeing/Combat-Tactical-Breathing.pdf)

~~~
kingludite
I tried to look at it from the writers perspective and lost most of my humor
in the process. Let me try describe the feeling in a way you could
understand..... I felt an overwhelming emptiness inside and thought, this must
be what daemons feel like after the exorcism. (just trying not to have my
malice misinterpreted as incompetence here)

If I see people lacking the strength (both mentally and physically) to
accomplish something I always suggest screaming as loud as you can. There is
nothing as funny as leaving the room to scream in the hallway. Preferably loud
enough that everyone inside the room can hear it.

While it was b.. bad, I really enjoyed the article and the author is right. It
is important to teach other people see things from my perspective.

------
warlog
Isn't the reason for getting upset because nobody else is using mental models?

~~~
Benjammer
If you thought it was contentious before, just wait until you start lecturing
everyone about how they suck at thinking... That's sure going to improve the
emotional situation.

~~~
wisty
Logical fallacies don't have to be directly stated (unless you're talking to
people who can think like adults).

You can simply use them as a shortcut to strategies that are likely to work.
If someone is making a slippery slope argument, then you can use a standard
slippery slop reply.

~~~
im3w1l
In my experience a lot of slopes are slippery, and a lot of people who cry
"slippery slope" are disingenuous; they know the slope is slippery and they
_want_ to slide down.

As to why slopes are slippery, it may be that it's easy and natural to build
political alliances advocating for either side of it, but hard to build an
alliance advocating for the middle.

------
pmarreck
Hanlon's Razor should be more well-known.

I like to modify it and call it Hanlon's Scythe:

"In the absence of clear evidence, don't automatically attribute to malice,
that which can be trivially attributed to _any other cause_ "

~~~
steverb
We always phrased it as "Presume good intent."

~~~
HarryHirsch
That's fine. Let's all forgive drunk drivers, they just want to get home, no
matter how much carnage they cause. It's a stupid phrase that enables all
sorts of black stupidity.

~~~
yjftsjthsd-h
You've taken it a half-step too far, but yes; if you assume that drunk drivers
are, in fact, not setting out to comment manslaughter, then you can see what
causes it and push for taxis/uber and _actually get people off the road_. Or
you can assume malice, demonize them and end up like MADD.

------
GusRuss89
How much better would the world be if more people put effort into recognising
their biases and improving their reactions to things?

~~~
kingludite
We would lose even more of our self criticism and browsers would get even
slower.

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m3kw9
If I can afford to hire a few models to help me stay calm that’d be fine too

~~~
pmarreck
I upvoted, but only to shield you from the avalance of downvotes coming

~~~
kraftman
"Please don't comment about the voting on comments. It never does any good,
and it makes boring reading."

[https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html](https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html)

------
zachguo
Statistics 101

------
737min
I thought this was about how dating models has helped many high-achievers cope
with stress.

