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SESK: Stuff Everyone Should Know · sesk.info/cadet-mental-models

Deeply held pictures of how the world works that keep us stuck in familiar thinking are called what?

Mental models.

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  3. Mental models ✔

Why: Mental models are deep assumptions about how things work. They shape what we notice and how we act. Escaping an old mental model leads to new ideas, like the B-2 bomber that flies without a normal tail.

Huh, didn't know that: Learn to Lead calls mental models the main thing that holds learning organizations back.

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Why did the designer leave the tail off the B-2? He didn't want an old tale.
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References

Answer: Mental models. Mental models are deep assumptions about how things work. They shape what we notice and how we act. Escaping an old mental model leads to new ideas, like the B-2 bomber that flies without a normal tail.

  1. Learn to Lead, Volume 2, Chapter 7 (Civil Air Patrol) www.gocivilairpatrol.com/media/cms/Vol2LetterLowFinal_8BDFDB373E830.pdf
    deeply held internal images of how the world works, images that limit us to familiar ways of thinking and acting.
    Checked 2026-10-10.

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