Joost van der LaanJoost van der Laan — building on the web: technology, web development, design, and experiments.Zola2026-07-21T00:00:00+00:00https://joostvanderlaan.nl/atom.xmlDot Field2026-07-21T00:00:00+00:002026-07-21T00:00:00+00:00
Joost van der Laan
https://joostvanderlaan.nl/labs/dot-field/<p>A small interactive toy in the lusion-inspired direction: a grid of
ink dots on the lavender canvas that bend away from your cursor on
spring physics, blushing electric blue as they move. Move your pointer
(or finger) across the field.</p>
<p>No libraries, no WebGL — one canvas, ~100 lines of vanilla
JavaScript, and the colors come straight from the design-token CSS
variables, so the field follows the light/dark theme toggle. With
<code>prefers-reduced-motion</code> the grid renders statically.</p>
<figure class="my-8">
<canvas id="dot-field" class="w-full rounded-lg bg-surface dark:bg-ink touch-none" style="height: 420px" aria-label="Interactive dot grid that reacts to the pointer"></canvas>
<figcaption class="t-label text-ink-muted dark:text-inverse-ink/60 mt-3">FIELD 01 · SPRINGS & INK</figcaption>
</figure>
<script>
(function () {
var canvas = document.getElementById('dot-field');
if (!canvas) return;
var ctx = canvas.getContext('2d');
var reduced = window.matchMedia('(prefers-reduced-motion: reduce)').matches;
var GAP = 26, R = 2, PUSH = 90, SPRING = 0.06, DAMP = 0.86;
var dots = [], w = 0, h = 0, dpr = 1;
var pointer = { x: -1e4, y: -1e4 };
var tokens = { ink: '#000000', primary: '#1a2ffb' };
function readTokens() {
var cs = getComputedStyle(document.documentElement);
var ink = cs.getPropertyValue('--color-ink').trim();
var primary = cs.getPropertyValue('--color-primary').trim();
if (ink) tokens.ink = ink;
if (primary) tokens.primary = primary;
}
function build() {
var rect = canvas.getBoundingClientRect();
dpr = window.devicePixelRatio || 1;
w = rect.width; h = rect.height;
canvas.width = w * dpr; canvas.height = h * dpr;
ctx.setTransform(dpr, 0, 0, dpr, 0, 0);
dots = [];
var cols = Math.floor(w / GAP), rows = Math.floor(h / GAP);
var ox = (w - (cols - 1) * GAP) / 2, oy = (h - (rows - 1) * GAP) / 2;
for (var i = 0; i < cols; i++)
for (var j = 0; j < rows; j++)
dots.push({ hx: ox + i * GAP, hy: oy + j * GAP, x: ox + i * GAP, y: oy + j * GAP, vx: 0, vy: 0 });
}
function step() {
ctx.clearRect(0, 0, w, h);
for (var k = 0; k < dots.length; k++) {
var d = dots[k];
var dx = d.x - pointer.x, dy = d.y - pointer.y;
var dist = Math.sqrt(dx * dx + dy * dy);
if (dist < PUSH && dist > 0.001) {
var f = (1 - dist / PUSH) * 6;
d.vx += (dx / dist) * f;
d.vy += (dy / dist) * f;
}
d.vx = (d.vx + (d.hx - d.x) * SPRING) * DAMP;
d.vy = (d.vy + (d.hy - d.y) * SPRING) * DAMP;
d.x += d.vx; d.y += d.vy;
var stretch = Math.min(Math.sqrt((d.x - d.hx) * (d.x - d.hx) + (d.y - d.hy) * (d.y - d.hy)) / 24, 1);
ctx.fillStyle = stretch > 0.05 ? tokens.primary : tokens.ink;
ctx.globalAlpha = 0.35 + stretch * 0.65;
ctx.beginPath();
ctx.arc(d.x, d.y, R + stretch * 1.5, 0, 6.2832);
ctx.fill();
}
ctx.globalAlpha = 1;
if (!reduced) requestAnimationFrame(step);
}
function setPointer(cx, cy) {
var rect = canvas.getBoundingClientRect();
pointer.x = cx - rect.left; pointer.y = cy - rect.top;
}
canvas.addEventListener('pointermove', function (e) { setPointer(e.clientX, e.clientY); });
canvas.addEventListener('pointerleave', function () { pointer.x = -1e4; pointer.y = -1e4; });
window.addEventListener('resize', function () { build(); if (reduced) step(); });
new MutationObserver(function () { readTokens(); if (reduced) step(); })
.observe(document.documentElement, { attributes: true, attributeFilter: ['class'] });
readTokens();
build();
step();
})();
</script>
Design Tokens2026-07-21T00:00:00+00:002026-07-21T00:00:00+00:00
Joost van der Laan
https://joostvanderlaan.nl/labs/tokens/<!-- Machine-written by scripts/generate-tokens-gallery.py from the
repo-root DESIGN.md front matter. Do not edit by hand: change
DESIGN.md, then run the script (bun run build does). -->
<p>The site’s design system, rendering itself: everything below is
generated from the token contract in the repo’s <code>DESIGN.md</code> front
matter — the same file the build validates and both sites derive
their styles from. Measured from <a class="external-link" rel="noopener external" target="_blank" href="https://lusion.co">lusion.co</a> and
enforced by <code>check-design-md.py</code>, including WCAG AA contrast on every
component pairing.</p>
<h2 id="colors">Colors</h2>
<div class="grid grid-cols-2 md:grid-cols-4 gap-3 not-prose my-6">
<div class="rounded-md p-4 border border-ink/10 dark:border-inverse-ink/10" style="background:#1a2ffb;color:#f0f1fa"><span class="t-label block">primary</span><span class="t-label block opacity-80">#1a2ffb · 6.56:1 on background</span></div>
<div class="rounded-md p-4 border border-ink/10 dark:border-inverse-ink/10" style="background:#f0f1fa;color:#000000"><span class="t-label block">on-primary</span><span class="t-label block opacity-80">#f0f1fa · 1.00:1 on background</span></div>
<div class="rounded-md p-4 border border-ink/10 dark:border-inverse-ink/10" style="background:#f0f1fa;color:#000000"><span class="t-label block">background</span><span class="t-label block opacity-80">#f0f1fa · 1.00:1 on background</span></div>
<div class="rounded-md p-4 border border-ink/10 dark:border-inverse-ink/10" style="background:#ffffff;color:#000000"><span class="t-label block">surface</span><span class="t-label block opacity-80">#ffffff · 1.12:1 on background</span></div>
<div class="rounded-md p-4 border border-ink/10 dark:border-inverse-ink/10" style="background:#000000;color:#f0f1fa"><span class="t-label block">ink</span><span class="t-label block opacity-80">#000000 · 18.67:1 on background</span></div>
<div class="rounded-md p-4 border border-ink/10 dark:border-inverse-ink/10" style="background:#2b2e3a;color:#f0f1fa"><span class="t-label block">ink-muted</span><span class="t-label block opacity-80">#2b2e3a · 12.01:1 on background</span></div>
<div class="rounded-md p-4 border border-ink/10 dark:border-inverse-ink/10" style="background:#000000;color:#f0f1fa"><span class="t-label block">inverse-background</span><span class="t-label block opacity-80">#000000 · 18.67:1 on background</span></div>
<div class="rounded-md p-4 border border-ink/10 dark:border-inverse-ink/10" style="background:#f0f1fa;color:#000000"><span class="t-label block">inverse-ink</span><span class="t-label block opacity-80">#f0f1fa · 1.00:1 on background</span></div>
</div>
<h2 id="typography">Typography</h2>
<figure class="my-6 not-prose"><div style="font-family:Inter, 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif;font-size:48px;font-weight:500;line-height:1.0;letter-spacing:-0.02em;">The quick brown fox</div><figcaption class="t-label text-ink-muted dark:text-inverse-ink/60 mt-2">display · 96px / 1.0 / 500 / -0.02em</figcaption></figure>
<figure class="my-6 not-prose"><div style="font-family:Inter, 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif;font-size:48px;font-weight:500;line-height:1.1;letter-spacing:-0.01em;">The quick brown fox</div><figcaption class="t-label text-ink-muted dark:text-inverse-ink/60 mt-2">heading · 48px / 1.1 / 500 / -0.01em</figcaption></figure>
<figure class="my-6 not-prose"><div style="font-family:Inter, 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif;font-size:16px;font-weight:400;line-height:1.5;letter-spacing:0em;">The quick brown fox</div><figcaption class="t-label text-ink-muted dark:text-inverse-ink/60 mt-2">body · 16px / 1.5 / 400 / 0em</figcaption></figure>
<figure class="my-6 not-prose"><div style="font-family:'IBM Plex Mono', monospace;font-size:12px;font-weight:400;line-height:1.3;letter-spacing:0.0975em;text-transform:uppercase;">The quick brown fox</div><figcaption class="t-label text-ink-muted dark:text-inverse-ink/60 mt-2">label · 12px / 1.3 / 400 / 0.0975em</figcaption></figure>
<h2 id="spacing">Spacing</h2>
<div class="flex items-center gap-4 my-1 not-prose"><span class="t-label w-20 text-ink-muted dark:text-inverse-ink/60">xs</span><span class="inline-block h-3 rounded-sm bg-primary/70" style="width:8px"></span><span class="t-label text-ink-muted dark:text-inverse-ink/60">8px</span></div>
<div class="flex items-center gap-4 my-1 not-prose"><span class="t-label w-20 text-ink-muted dark:text-inverse-ink/60">sm</span><span class="inline-block h-3 rounded-sm bg-primary/70" style="width:16px"></span><span class="t-label text-ink-muted dark:text-inverse-ink/60">16px</span></div>
<div class="flex items-center gap-4 my-1 not-prose"><span class="t-label w-20 text-ink-muted dark:text-inverse-ink/60">md</span><span class="inline-block h-3 rounded-sm bg-primary/70" style="width:24px"></span><span class="t-label text-ink-muted dark:text-inverse-ink/60">24px</span></div>
<div class="flex items-center gap-4 my-1 not-prose"><span class="t-label w-20 text-ink-muted dark:text-inverse-ink/60">lg</span><span class="inline-block h-3 rounded-sm bg-primary/70" style="width:40px"></span><span class="t-label text-ink-muted dark:text-inverse-ink/60">40px</span></div>
<div class="flex items-center gap-4 my-1 not-prose"><span class="t-label w-20 text-ink-muted dark:text-inverse-ink/60">xl</span><span class="inline-block h-3 rounded-sm bg-primary/70" style="width:64px"></span><span class="t-label text-ink-muted dark:text-inverse-ink/60">64px</span></div>
<div class="flex items-center gap-4 my-1 not-prose"><span class="t-label w-20 text-ink-muted dark:text-inverse-ink/60">2xl</span><span class="inline-block h-3 rounded-sm bg-primary/70" style="width:96px"></span><span class="t-label text-ink-muted dark:text-inverse-ink/60">96px</span></div>
<div class="flex items-center gap-4 my-1 not-prose"><span class="t-label w-20 text-ink-muted dark:text-inverse-ink/60">section</span><span class="inline-block h-3 rounded-sm bg-primary/70" style="width:160px"></span><span class="t-label text-ink-muted dark:text-inverse-ink/60">160px</span></div>
<h2 id="radii">Radii</h2>
<div class="flex flex-wrap gap-6 my-6">
<div class="text-center not-prose"><div class="w-24 h-16 mx-auto bg-ink/10 dark:bg-inverse-ink/15 border border-ink/20 dark:border-inverse-ink/20" style="border-radius:10px"></div><span class="t-label block mt-2 text-ink-muted dark:text-inverse-ink/60">sm · 10px</span></div>
<div class="text-center not-prose"><div class="w-24 h-16 mx-auto bg-ink/10 dark:bg-inverse-ink/15 border border-ink/20 dark:border-inverse-ink/20" style="border-radius:15px"></div><span class="t-label block mt-2 text-ink-muted dark:text-inverse-ink/60">md · 15px</span></div>
<div class="text-center not-prose"><div class="w-24 h-16 mx-auto bg-ink/10 dark:bg-inverse-ink/15 border border-ink/20 dark:border-inverse-ink/20" style="border-radius:20px"></div><span class="t-label block mt-2 text-ink-muted dark:text-inverse-ink/60">lg · 20px</span></div>
<div class="text-center not-prose"><div class="w-24 h-16 mx-auto bg-ink/10 dark:bg-inverse-ink/15 border border-ink/20 dark:border-inverse-ink/20" style="border-radius:100px"></div><span class="t-label block mt-2 text-ink-muted dark:text-inverse-ink/60">pill · 100px</span></div>
</div>
<h2 id="components">Components</h2>
<div class="flex flex-wrap items-center gap-4 my-6 not-prose">
<span class="btn-primary">Button primary</span>
<span class="tag-pill bg-primary text-on-primary"><span class="block text-cap-trim">1</span></span>
<span class="inline-block t-label text-cap-trim px-2.5 py-1.5 rounded-pill bg-primary/10 text-primary dark:bg-primary/25 dark:text-on-primary">Category</span>
<span class="inline-block t-label text-cap-trim px-2 py-1.5 rounded-pill bg-ink/10 text-ink dark:bg-inverse-ink/15 dark:text-inverse-ink">tag</span>
</div>
<div class="not-prose my-6 bg-surface dark:bg-ink text-ink dark:text-inverse-ink rounded-lg p-md border border-ink/10 dark:border-inverse-ink/10">card · surface on background, rounded-lg</div>
<div class="not-prose my-6 bg-inverse-background text-inverse-ink dark:bg-ink rounded-lg p-md">footer · inverse panel, rounded-lg</div>
<p>Rendered with the site’s live component classes — if the contract or
the implementation changes, this page changes with it.</p>
Goal Setting2026-03-25T04:38:44+01:002026-03-25T04:38:44+01:00
Joost van der Laan
https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/goal-setting/<p>Setting the right goal matters more than optimizing the strategy used to reach it.</p>
<h2 id="the-idea">The idea</h2>
<p>No amount of strategy will help, if we set the wrong goal. Good strategy will only help us get to the wrong goal faster.</p>
<p>Strategy, execution speed, and discipline are all downstream of the goal itself. A team can plan meticulously and still fail, because none of that changes whether the destination was the right one.</p>
<h2 id="when-to-use-it">When to use it</h2>
<ul>
<li>Before committing resources to a new initiative</li>
<li>When execution is going well but outcomes still disappoint</li>
<li>During planning, before locking in tactics</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="how-to-apply-it">How to apply it</h2>
<ol>
<li>Write the goal in one sentence and ask “why this goal, not another?”</li>
<li>Check it against a higher-level purpose it should serve.</li>
<li>Only after the goal survives that scrutiny, move on to strategy.</li>
</ol>
<h2 id="watch-out-for">Watch out for</h2>
<ul>
<li>Mistaking activity and fast execution for the right outcome.</li>
<li>Goals borrowed from peers or industry norms without checking fit.</li>
<li>Only questioning the goal after failure, rather than before committing resources.</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="related-models">Related models</h2>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/smart/">SMART</a> — a framework for making a chosen goal specific and actionable.</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/north-star/">North Star</a> — anchoring goals to a single overarching objective.</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/first-things-first/">First Things First</a> — deciding which goals deserve priority before attacking them.</li>
</ul>
Model Map2025-07-25T00:00:00+00:002025-07-25T00:00:00+00:00
Joost van der Laan
https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/map/Tailwind CSS Test2025-07-09T10:00:00+01:002025-07-09T10:00:00+01:00
Joost van der Laan
https://joostvanderlaan.nl/2025-07-09-tailwind-test/<p>Let’s test some Tailwind classes to ensure they’re working properly.</p>
<div class="bg-gradient-to-r from-pink-500 to-violet-500 text-white p-4 rounded shadow">
<h2 class="text-xl font-bold">Gradient Background</h2>
<p>This box has a gradient background using Tailwind CSS classes.</p>
</div>
<div class="my-4">
<button class="px-4 py-2 bg-blue-700 text-white rounded hover:bg-blue-800 transition">
Tailwind Button
</button>
</div>
<div class="grid grid-cols-3 gap-4 mt-4">
<div class="bg-red-200 text-gray-900 p-4 rounded">Red Box</div>
<div class="bg-green-200 text-gray-900 p-4 rounded">Green Box</div>
<div class="bg-blue-200 text-gray-900 p-4 rounded">Blue Box</div>
</div>
<p class="text-3xl font-extrabold bg-clip-text text-transparent bg-gradient-to-r from-pink-500 to-violet-500">
Gradient Text Effect
</p>
<p>If you can see styled elements above, Tailwind CSS is working correctly!</p>
Gallery2025-06-26T00:00:00+00:002025-06-26T00:00:00+00:00
Joost van der Laan
https://joostvanderlaan.nl/gallery/<h2 id="gallery">Gallery</h2>
<p>AVIF images generated by <code>gallery.html</code> shortcode, linking to the original (<code>.jpg</code>) image.</p>
<div class="grid grid-cols-2 sm:grid-cols-3 md:grid-cols-4 lg:grid-cols-5 gap-4 my-8">
<a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/gallery/blackpepper.jpg"
target="_blank"
class="group relative overflow-hidden rounded-lg shadow-md hover:shadow-xl transition-shadow duration-300">
<img src="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/processed_images/blackpepper.efc4c6aafeaa10cc.avif"
srcset="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/processed_images/blackpepper.efc4c6aafeaa10cc.avif 1x, https://joostvanderlaan.nl/processed_images/blackpepper.e0b8a8e873c7e3ff.avif 2x"
alt="Gallery image"
loading="lazy"
class="w-full h-full object-cover group-hover:scale-105 transition-transform duration-300" />
<div class="absolute inset-0 bg-slate-950 bg-opacity-0 group-hover:bg-opacity-20 transition-opacity duration-300"></div>
</a>
<a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/gallery/dill-seed.jpg"
target="_blank"
class="group relative overflow-hidden rounded-lg shadow-md hover:shadow-xl transition-shadow duration-300">
<img src="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/processed_images/dill-seed.9acf20684292f4d4.avif"
srcset="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/processed_images/dill-seed.9acf20684292f4d4.avif 1x, https://joostvanderlaan.nl/processed_images/dill-seed.8bd1237b1c2f3943.avif 2x"
alt="Gallery image"
loading="lazy"
class="w-full h-full object-cover group-hover:scale-105 transition-transform duration-300" />
<div class="absolute inset-0 bg-slate-950 bg-opacity-0 group-hover:bg-opacity-20 transition-opacity duration-300"></div>
</a>
<a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/gallery/lavender-flowers.jpg"
target="_blank"
class="group relative overflow-hidden rounded-lg shadow-md hover:shadow-xl transition-shadow duration-300">
<img src="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/processed_images/lavender-flowers.ae52a6a8bbe9e040.avif"
srcset="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/processed_images/lavender-flowers.ae52a6a8bbe9e040.avif 1x, https://joostvanderlaan.nl/processed_images/lavender-flowers.3f7884d26393bb22.avif 2x"
alt="Gallery image"
loading="lazy"
class="w-full h-full object-cover group-hover:scale-105 transition-transform duration-300" />
<div class="absolute inset-0 bg-slate-950 bg-opacity-0 group-hover:bg-opacity-20 transition-opacity duration-300"></div>
</a>
<a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/gallery/rosemary.jpg"
target="_blank"
class="group relative overflow-hidden rounded-lg shadow-md hover:shadow-xl transition-shadow duration-300">
<img src="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/processed_images/rosemary.7ad5d8f7ecdcafcf.avif"
srcset="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/processed_images/rosemary.7ad5d8f7ecdcafcf.avif 1x, https://joostvanderlaan.nl/processed_images/rosemary.469588e4423c4ffe.avif 2x"
alt="Gallery image"
loading="lazy"
class="w-full h-full object-cover group-hover:scale-105 transition-transform duration-300" />
<div class="absolute inset-0 bg-slate-950 bg-opacity-0 group-hover:bg-opacity-20 transition-opacity duration-300"></div>
</a>
<a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/gallery/saffron.jpg"
target="_blank"
class="group relative overflow-hidden rounded-lg shadow-md hover:shadow-xl transition-shadow duration-300">
<img src="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/processed_images/saffron.1cee7bea1b778f0d.avif"
srcset="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/processed_images/saffron.1cee7bea1b778f0d.avif 1x, https://joostvanderlaan.nl/processed_images/saffron.38b5c283061acf98.avif 2x"
alt="Gallery image"
loading="lazy"
class="w-full h-full object-cover group-hover:scale-105 transition-transform duration-300" />
<div class="absolute inset-0 bg-slate-950 bg-opacity-0 group-hover:bg-opacity-20 transition-opacity duration-300"></div>
</a>
<a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/gallery/savory-winter.jpg"
target="_blank"
class="group relative overflow-hidden rounded-lg shadow-md hover:shadow-xl transition-shadow duration-300">
<img src="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/processed_images/savory-winter.c08d48d65bc14cd6.avif"
srcset="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/processed_images/savory-winter.c08d48d65bc14cd6.avif 1x, https://joostvanderlaan.nl/processed_images/savory-winter.697a30cb0778654e.avif 2x"
alt="Gallery image"
loading="lazy"
class="w-full h-full object-cover group-hover:scale-105 transition-transform duration-300" />
<div class="absolute inset-0 bg-slate-950 bg-opacity-0 group-hover:bg-opacity-20 transition-opacity duration-300"></div>
</a>
</div>
tools.joostvanderlaan.nl2025-03-01T10:00:00+01:002025-03-01T10:00:00+01:00
Joost van der Laan
https://joostvanderlaan.nl/case-studies/tools-site/<h2 id="problem">Problem</h2>
<p>I kept needing small utilities — a color converter, a text counter, a
timestamp formatter — and every existing one was either buried in ads,
required an account, or loaded a framework heavier than the tool
itself. I wanted tools that load instantly, work offline, and do
exactly one thing.</p>
<h2 id="approach">Approach</h2>
<p>Each tool is a single self-contained HTML file: markup, styles, and
logic in one document. No bundler, no framework, no client-side build
step. If the tool’s JavaScript breaks, the rest of the collection is
unaffected.</p>
<p>The build system is equally simple: a Python script managed by uv
generates the index and assembles the site. Playwright runs the tests
— each tool gets a basic smoke test that opens the page and verifies
it renders without errors.</p>
<h2 id="stack">Stack</h2>
<p>HTML, CSS, vanilla JavaScript, Python, uv, Playwright.</p>
<h2 id="outcome">Outcome</h2>
<p>The site hosts over 180 tools. The collection keeps growing because
adding a new tool is trivially cheap: write one HTML file, run the
build, and it appears in the index. No dependency updates, no
framework migrations, no breaking changes from upstream.</p>
<p>What it taught me: keeping a tool boring is usually the fastest way
to end up with something I actually keep using. The absence of a
framework is a feature, not a limitation — it means the tool I wrote
three years ago still works exactly as it did the day I built it.</p>
Whisky Collection API2025-01-15T10:00:00+01:002025-01-15T10:00:00+01:00
Joost van der Laan
https://joostvanderlaan.nl/case-studies/whisky-collection-api/<h2 id="problem">Problem</h2>
<p>I wanted to write real backend Rust — routing, typed extractors,
proper error handling — but toy examples never teach the parts that
actually matter. I needed a project with real data, real constraints,
and a reason to keep coming back to it.</p>
<h2 id="approach">Approach</h2>
<p>Build a whisky collection tracker as a full-stack Rust application:
a REST API with server-rendered pages, backed by PostgreSQL, with
enough moving parts to encounter real engineering problems.</p>
<p>The key technical decisions:</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Axum 0.7</strong> as the web framework, with utoipa for OpenAPI docs
(Swagger UI and ReDoc).</li>
<li><strong>Server-side rendering</strong> with Askama templates and Datastar for
interactivity — no separate JavaScript frontend.</li>
<li><strong>sqlx</strong> for type-checked SQL queries against PostgreSQL.</li>
<li><strong>Meilisearch</strong> for search indexing, connected via NATS JetStream
for async reindexing.</li>
<li><strong>S3-compatible storage</strong> (Hetzner in production) for bottle images,
with a separate <code>image-pipeline</code> binary that batch-generates AVIF
variants at multiple sizes.</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="stack">Stack</h2>
<p>Rust, Axum, Askama, Datastar, sqlx, PostgreSQL, Meilisearch, NATS
JetStream, S3, Tailwind CSS + DaisyUI.</p>
<h2 id="outcome">Outcome</h2>
<p>The API runs in production. It has its own migration-driven
schema, test harness, merge queue with CI tiers, and Beads issue
tracker. The codebase lives in the same monorepo as this site but has
its own toolchain (mise), hooks, and deployment pipeline.</p>
<p>What it taught me: Rust’s type system forces decisions about data
shape up front, which is uncomfortable at first and then makes the
rest of the code much harder to get wrong. The compiler catches
entire categories of bugs that in other languages would surface at
runtime or in production.</p>
Gradients & P32024-01-01T00:00:00+00:002024-01-01T00:00:00+00:00
Joost van der Laan
https://joostvanderlaan.nl/labs/gradients/<p>A bit of background on gradients. <a class="external-link" rel="noopener external" target="_blank" href="https://oklch.com/">okclh.com</a> <a class="external-link" rel="noopener external" target="_blank" href="https://evilmartians.com/">evilmartians.com</a> and
<a class="external-link" rel="noopener external" target="_blank" href="https://gradient.style/">gradient.style</a> OKCLH is for Display P3 color
support (more vivid / vibrant, if you upgrade your existing colors into
that space) which you can see the difference with sRGB in some of the
examples below.</p>
<ul>
<li><a class="external-link" rel="noopener external" target="_blank" href="https://evilmartians.com/chronicles?skills=oklch">https://evilmartians.com/chronicles?skills=oklch</a></li>
</ul>
<p><em>If you don’t see a difference in below examples between sRGB and P3, it might be your display doesn’t support it.</em></p>
<h2 id="srgb-vs-p3">sRGB vs P3</h2>
<div class="h-24 mt-4 w-24">
<svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 496 512">
<path fill="#1ed760" d="M248 8C111.1 8 0 119.1 0 256s111.1 248 248 248 248-111.1 248-248S384.9 8 248 8Z"/>
<path d="M406.6 231.1c-5.2 0-8.4-1.3-12.9-3.9-71.2-42.5-198.5-52.7-280.9-29.7-3.6 1-8.1 2.6-12.9 2.6-13.2 0-23.3-10.3-23.3-23.6 0-13.6 8.4-21.3 17.4-23.9 35.2-10.3 74.6-15.2 117.5-15.2 73 0 149.5 15.2 205.4 47.8 7.8 4.5 12.9 10.7 12.9 22.6 0 13.6-11 23.3-23.2 23.3zm-31 76.2c-5.2 0-8.7-2.3-12.3-4.2-62.5-37-155.7-51.9-238.6-29.4-4.8 1.3-7.4 2.6-11.9 2.6-10.7 0-19.4-8.7-19.4-19.4s5.2-17.8 15.5-20.7c27.8-7.8 56.2-13.6 97.8-13.6 64.9 0 127.6 16.1 177 45.5 8.1 4.8 11.3 11 11.3 19.7-.1 10.8-8.5 19.5-19.4 19.5zm-26.9 65.6c-4.2 0-6.8-1.3-10.7-3.6-62.4-37.6-135-39.2-206.7-24.5-3.9 1-9 2.6-11.9 2.6-9.7 0-15.8-7.7-15.8-15.8 0-10.3 6.1-15.2 13.6-16.8 81.9-18.1 165.6-16.5 237 26.2 6.1 3.9 9.7 7.4 9.7 16.5s-7.1 15.4-15.2 15.4z"/>
</svg>
</div>
sRGB
<div class="h-24 mt-4 w-24">
<svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 496 512">
<path fill="oklch(73.74% 0.2932 148.67)" d="M248 8C111.1 8 0 119.1 0 256s111.1 248 248 248 248-111.1 248-248S384.9 8 248 8Z"/>
<path d="M406.6 231.1c-5.2 0-8.4-1.3-12.9-3.9-71.2-42.5-198.5-52.7-280.9-29.7-3.6 1-8.1 2.6-12.9 2.6-13.2 0-23.3-10.3-23.3-23.6 0-13.6 8.4-21.3 17.4-23.9 35.2-10.3 74.6-15.2 117.5-15.2 73 0 149.5 15.2 205.4 47.8 7.8 4.5 12.9 10.7 12.9 22.6 0 13.6-11 23.3-23.2 23.3zm-31 76.2c-5.2 0-8.7-2.3-12.3-4.2-62.5-37-155.7-51.9-238.6-29.4-4.8 1.3-7.4 2.6-11.9 2.6-10.7 0-19.4-8.7-19.4-19.4s5.2-17.8 15.5-20.7c27.8-7.8 56.2-13.6 97.8-13.6 64.9 0 127.6 16.1 177 45.5 8.1 4.8 11.3 11 11.3 19.7-.1 10.8-8.5 19.5-19.4 19.5zm-26.9 65.6c-4.2 0-6.8-1.3-10.7-3.6-62.4-37.6-135-39.2-206.7-24.5-3.9 1-9 2.6-11.9 2.6-9.7 0-15.8-7.7-15.8-15.8 0-10.3 6.1-15.2 13.6-16.8 81.9-18.1 165.6-16.5 237 26.2 6.1 3.9 9.7 7.4 9.7 16.5s-7.1 15.4-15.2 15.4z"/>
</svg>
</div>
P3 (maximized Chroma, not an official Spotify color)
<h2 id="gradient-text-examples">Gradient Text Examples</h2>
<h3 id="tailwind-style-gradient-text">Tailwind-style gradient text</h3>
<div class="text-5xl font-extrabold">
<span class="bg-clip-text text-transparent bg-gradient-to-r from-pink-500 to-violet-500">
Hello world
</span>
</div>
<h3 id="gradient-button-example">Gradient button example</h3>
<div class="flex flex-col justify-center text-sm font-medium tracking-wide leading-6 text-white uppercase whitespace-nowrap rounded shadow" style="background: linear-gradient(90deg,#FF2468 0%,#EA0151 100%); max-width: 96px;">
<div class="justify-center px-4 py-1.5">Enabled</div>
</div>
## Fashionunited color
(right end is the primary used troughout fashionunited.com)
<p><strong>sRGB</strong></p>
<div class="bg-fu-gradient mt-4 p-2 h-32 w-full flex items-end"><p class="text-3xl font-black text-white">sRGB</p></div>
<h2 id="upgrade-fashionunited-color-to-p3">Upgrade Fashionunited color to P3</h2>
<p><strong>sRGB</strong> (fallbacks for P3, we could instead also use the above as fallback of course)</p>
<div class="bg-gradient mt-4 p-2 h-32 w-full flex items-end"><p class="text-3xl font-black text-white">sRGB</p></div>
<div class="bg-p3-gradient my-4 p-2 h-32 w-full flex items-end"><p class="text-3xl font-black text-white">P3</p></div>
<pre class="giallo" style="color: #E0DEF4; background-color: #191724;"><code data-lang="javascript"><span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #F6C177;">".bg-fu-gradient"</span><span>:</span><span style="color: #908CAA;"> {</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span> background</span><span style="color: #908CAA;">:</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #F6C177;"> "linear-gradient(to right, oklch(80% 0.24 14), oklch(59% 0.24 14))"</span><span style="color: #908CAA;">,</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #908CAA;">},</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #F6C177;">".bg-gradient"</span><span>:</span><span style="color: #908CAA;"> {</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span> background</span><span style="color: #908CAA;">:</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #F6C177;"> "linear-gradient(to right, oklch(70.73% 0.18796955270463947 14.001408985933033), oklch(53.24% 0.21275278197593844 13.998586666801577))"</span><span style="color: #908CAA;">,</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #908CAA;">},</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #F6C177;">".bg-p3-gradient"</span><span>:</span><span style="color: #908CAA;"> {</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span> background</span><span style="color: #908CAA;">:</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #F6C177;"> "linear-gradient(to right, oklch(70.73% 0.24 14), oklch(53.24% 0.24 14))"</span><span style="color: #908CAA;">,</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #908CAA;">},</span></span></code></pre><h2 id="more-gradient-examples">More gradient examples</h2>
<h3 id="version-1">Version 1</h3>
<div class="bg-v1-gradient mt-4 p-2 h-32 w-full flex items-end"><p class="text-3xl font-black text-white">sRGB</p></div>
<div class="bg-v1-p3-gradient mt-4 p-2 h-32 w-full flex items-end"><p class="text-3xl font-black text-white">P3</p></div>
<h3 id="version-2">Version 2</h3>
<div class="bg-v2-gradient mt-4 p-2 h-32 w-full flex items-end"><p class="text-3xl font-black text-white">sRGB</p></div>
<div class="bg-v2-p3-gradient mt-4 p-2 h-32 w-full flex items-end"><p class="text-3xl font-black text-white">P3</p></div>
<h3 id="version-3">Version 3</h3>
<div class="bg-v3-gradient mt-4 p-2 h-32 w-full flex items-end"><p class="text-3xl font-black text-white">sRGB</p></div>
<div class="bg-v3-p3-gradient mt-4 p-2 h-32 w-full flex items-end"><p class="text-3xl font-black text-white">P3</p></div>
How to use Font-Ranger to generate web fonts from otf and ttf files2022-12-14T10:00:00+01:002022-12-14T10:00:00+01:00
Joost van der Laan
https://joostvanderlaan.nl/2022-12-14-how-to-use-font-ranger-to-generate-web-fonts-from-otf-ttf/<h2 id="font-ranger-generate-webfonts-from-otf-ttf">Font-ranger, generate webfonts from otf, ttf</h2>
<p>Optimize your webfont loading! Split a large Unicode font into smaller subsets
(Latin, Cyrillic etc.) and browser will only download the subset needed for a
particular page (using unicode-range).</p>
<p><a class="external-link" rel="noopener external" target="_blank" href="https://github.com/doasync/font-ranger">Font-ranger Documentation</a></p>
<h3 id="subsetting">Subsetting</h3>
<p>To subset a font to multiple smaller files, use the -u option. The value is a
comma-separated list of Unicode ranges. The following ranges are supported:</p>
<ul>
<li>latin</li>
<li>latin-ext</li>
<li>cyrillic</li>
<li>cyrillic-ext</li>
<li>greek</li>
<li>greek-ext and other, see Google fonts subsets.</li>
</ul>
<pre class="giallo" style="color: #E0DEF4; background-color: #191724;"><code data-lang="shellscript"><span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #EBBCBA;">npx</span><span style="color: #F6C177;"> font-ranger</span><span style="color: #31748F;"> -f</span><span style="color: #F6C177;"> Futura_PT_Cond_Bold.otf</span><span style="color: #31748F;"> \</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span>-o</span><span style="color: #F6C177;"> fonts</span><span style="color: #31748F;"> -u</span><span style="color: #F6C177;"> latin latin-ext cyrillic cyrillic-ext</span><span style="color: #31748F;"> \</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span>-n</span><span style="color: #F6C177;"> futura-cond-700</span><span style="color: #31748F;"> -p</span><span style="color: #F6C177;"> "/fonts/"</span><span style="color: #31748F;"> -m</span><span style="color: #F6C177;"> Futura</span><span style="color: #31748F;"> \</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span>-b</span><span style="color: #F6C177;"> normal</span><span style="color: #31748F;"> -s</span><span style="color: #F6C177;"> normal</span><span style="color: #31748F;"> -i</span><span style="color: #F6C177;"> swap</span><span style="color: #31748F;"> -l</span><span style="color: #F6C177;"> Futura Futura-Cond</span></span></code></pre><h3 id="helvetica-now-free-sample-from-site">Helvetica Now (free sample from site)</h3>
<p>Subsetting Helvetica Now, a font with spaces in the name, to <code>latin</code> and
<code>latin-ext</code>.</p>
<pre class="giallo" style="color: #E0DEF4; background-color: #191724;"><code data-lang="shellscript"><span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #EBBCBA;">npx</span><span style="color: #F6C177;"> font-ranger</span><span style="color: #31748F;"> -f</span><span style="color: #F6C177;"> HelveticaNowDisplayXBlk.otf</span><span style="color: #31748F;"> \</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span>-o</span><span style="color: #F6C177;"> fonts</span><span style="color: #31748F;"> -u</span><span style="color: #F6C177;"> latin latin-ext</span><span style="color: #31748F;"> \</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span>-n</span><span style="color: #F6C177;"> helvetica-now-display-black</span><span style="color: #31748F;"> -p</span><span style="color: #F6C177;"> "/fonts/"</span><span style="color: #31748F;"> \</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span>-m</span><span style="color: #F6C177;"> "Helvetica Now"</span><span style="color: #31748F;"> \</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span>-b</span><span style="color: #F6C177;"> normal</span><span style="color: #31748F;"> -s</span><span style="color: #F6C177;"> normal</span><span style="color: #31748F;"> -i</span><span style="color: #F6C177;"> swap</span><span style="color: #31748F;"> -l</span><span style="color: #F6C177;"> "Helvetica Now"</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #EBBCBA;">npx</span><span style="color: #F6C177;"> font-ranger</span><span style="color: #31748F;"> -f</span><span style="color: #F6C177;"> HelveticaNowText-Regular.ttf</span><span style="color: #31748F;"> \</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span>-o</span><span style="color: #F6C177;"> fonts</span><span style="color: #31748F;"> -u</span><span style="color: #F6C177;"> latin latin-ext</span><span style="color: #31748F;"> \</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span>-n</span><span style="color: #F6C177;"> helvetica-now-text-regular</span><span style="color: #31748F;"> -p</span><span style="color: #F6C177;"> "/fonts/"</span><span style="color: #31748F;"> \</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span>-m</span><span style="color: #F6C177;"> "Helvetica Now"</span><span style="color: #31748F;"> \</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span>-b</span><span style="color: #F6C177;"> normal</span><span style="color: #31748F;"> -s</span><span style="color: #F6C177;"> normal</span><span style="color: #31748F;"> -i</span><span style="color: #F6C177;"> swap</span><span style="color: #31748F;"> -l</span><span style="color: #F6C177;"> "Helvetica Now"</span></span></code></pre><h3 id="converting-a-google-font-ttf-to-woff">Converting a Google font TTF to WOFF</h3>
<p>Lora, a Google font</p>
<pre class="giallo" style="color: #E0DEF4; background-color: #191724;"><code data-lang="shellscript"><span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #EBBCBA;">npx</span><span style="color: #F6C177;"> font-ranger</span><span style="color: #31748F;"> -f</span><span style="color: #F6C177;"> Lora-Regular.ttf</span><span style="color: #31748F;"> \</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span>-o</span><span style="color: #F6C177;"> fonts</span><span style="color: #31748F;"> -u</span><span style="color: #F6C177;"> latin latin-ext cyrillic cyrillic-ext</span><span style="color: #31748F;"> \</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span>-n</span><span style="color: #F6C177;"> lora-regular</span><span style="color: #31748F;"> -p</span><span style="color: #F6C177;"> "/fonts/"</span><span style="color: #31748F;"> -m</span><span style="color: #F6C177;"> Lora</span><span style="color: #31748F;"> \</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span>-b</span><span style="color: #F6C177;"> normal</span><span style="color: #31748F;"> -s</span><span style="color: #F6C177;"> normal</span><span style="color: #31748F;"> -i</span><span style="color: #F6C177;"> swap</span><span style="color: #31748F;"> -l</span><span style="color: #F6C177;"> Lora</span></span></code></pre><!-- ### Variable fonts -->
Books2022-08-01T10:00:00+01:002022-08-01T10:00:00+01:00
Joost van der Laan
https://joostvanderlaan.nl/2022-08-01-books/<h2 id="boeken">Boeken</h2>
<ul>
<li>Kaizen — Masaaki Imai</li>
<li>Learning Python — Mark Lutz</li>
<li>The Rust Programming Language — Steve Klabnik & Carol Nichols</li>
<li>The Black Swan — Nassim Nicholas Taleb
<ul>
<li>Antifragile — Nassim Nicholas Taleb</li>
<li>Fooled by Randomness — Nassim Nicholas Taleb</li>
<li>Skin in the Game — Nassim Nicholas Taleb</li>
<li>The Bed of Procrustes — Nassim Nicholas Taleb</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Thinking, Fast and Slow — Daniel Kahneman</li>
<li>Poor Charlie’s Almanack — Charles T. Munger</li>
<li>Scrum — Jeff Sutherland</li>
<li>The Phoenix Project — Gene Kim, Kevin Behr & George Spafford</li>
<li>The DevOps Handbook — Gene Kim, Jez Humble, Patrick Debois & John Willis</li>
<li>Het Zeilboek — Jan Peter Hoefnagels</li>
<li>Grokking Algorithms — Aditya Bhargava</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="2026-reflection">2026 reflection</h2>
<p>Looking back at this list, the through-lines are clearer than they were
when I was reading these books one at a time.</p>
<p>Taleb’s Incerto (Black Swan, Antifragile, Fooled by Randomness, Skin in
the Game) and Kahneman’s Thinking, Fast and Slow shaped how I think about
systems under uncertainty. Together with Munger’s latticework idea from
Poor Charlie’s Almanack, they are the reason the <a href="/models">mental
models</a> section exists on this site: short notes on
frameworks I actually reach for when working through a problem.</p>
<p>The Rust Programming Language led directly to building the <a href="/projects">Whisky
Collection API</a> in Rust and Axum. Rust is now the default
language for new projects in this repo.</p>
<p>The DevOps and Scrum books (Phoenix Project, DevOps Handbook, Scrum) read
differently after a decade of applying them at scale. The principles held
up; the specific practices evolved. What stuck most: the idea that flow
and feedback loops matter more than any single tool or process.</p>
How to test a new hard drive2021-03-26T09:30:06+01:002021-03-26T09:30:06+01:00
Joost van der Laan
https://joostvanderlaan.nl/2021-03-26-testing-a-new-harddrive/<p>Hard drives break a lot. In fact, it is the part of a computer that breaks most
of all. While we cannot prevent them from breaking, we can make sure we got a
good new drive to begin with. Before starting to use a new harddrive, it is wise
to <strong>test it</strong> to see if you received one without faults. Especially for big NAS
disks that will be holding a lot of your valuable data. For big disks, this will
take a long time, but at least you can be sure your new disk is not faulty. 8TB
disks will take around 5 days to test, 12TB around 9 days.</p>
<p>Also, if you bought an external drive to shuck it (remove it from the external
drive enclosure), run this test <strong>before</strong> shucking your drive.</p>
<h2 id="the-test">The test</h2>
<p>If you have multiple drives, plug them in 1 by 1 so you know which drive is
which.</p>
<h3 id="1-smart-test">1. SMART Test</h3>
<p>Check the drive stats from SMART. Replace <code>/dev/sd*</code> with the correct drive
letter.</p>
<pre class="giallo" style="color: #E0DEF4; background-color: #191724;"><code data-lang="shellscript"><span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #EBBCBA;">sudo</span><span style="color: #F6C177;"> apt-get install smartmontools</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #EBBCBA;">smartctl</span><span style="color: #31748F;"> -A</span><span style="color: #F6C177;"> /dev/sd</span><span style="font-style: italic;">*</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #EBBCBA;">smartctl</span><span style="color: #31748F;"> -t</span><span style="color: #F6C177;"> long /dev/sd</span><span style="font-style: italic;">*</span></span></code></pre>
<p>For Western Digital mybook usb drive add <code>-d sat</code> to <code>smartctl</code>.</p>
<p>The smart long test will take ~1000 minutes with 8TB. This test does not give
feedback, it seems like it is doing nothing.</p>
<p>To view test results:</p>
<pre class="giallo" style="color: #E0DEF4; background-color: #191724;"><code data-lang="shellscript"><span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #EBBCBA;">sudo</span><span style="color: #F6C177;"> smartctl</span><span style="color: #31748F;"> -a</span><span style="color: #F6C177;"> /dev/sd</span><span style="font-style: italic;">*</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #EBBCBA;">sudo</span><span style="color: #F6C177;"> smartctl</span><span style="color: #31748F;"> -d</span><span style="color: #F6C177;"> sat</span><span style="color: #31748F;"> -a</span><span style="color: #F6C177;"> /dev/sd</span><span style="font-style: italic;">*</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #EBBCBA;">sudo</span><span style="color: #F6C177;"> smartctl</span><span style="color: #31748F;"> -d</span><span style="color: #F6C177;"> sat</span><span style="color: #31748F;"> -a --tolerance</span><span style="color: #F6C177;"> permissive /dev/sd</span><span style="font-style: italic;">*</span></span></code></pre><h3 id="2-badblocks-test-m">2) BadBlocks test - m</h3>
<p>This is a <strong>complete write and read test</strong>, it will destroy all data on the
harddrive.</p>
<pre class="giallo" style="color: #E0DEF4; background-color: #191724;"><code data-lang="shellscript"><span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #908CAA;font-style: italic;">#</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;font-style: italic;"> if mounted, unmount the disk first</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #EBBCBA;">sudo</span><span style="color: #F6C177;"> umount /dev/sd</span><span style="font-style: italic;">*</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #EBBCBA;">sudo</span><span style="color: #F6C177;"> badblocks</span><span style="color: #31748F;"> -b</span><span style="color: #EBBCBA;"> 4096</span><span style="color: #31748F;"> -wsv</span><span style="color: #F6C177;"> /dev/sd</span><span style="font-style: italic;">*</span></span></code></pre>
<p><strong>Example run:</strong></p>
<pre class="giallo" style="color: #E0DEF4; background-color: #191724;"><code data-lang="shellscript"><span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #EBBCBA;">sudo</span><span style="color: #F6C177;"> badblocks</span><span style="color: #31748F;"> -b</span><span style="color: #EBBCBA;"> 4096</span><span style="color: #31748F;"> -wsv</span><span style="color: #F6C177;"> /dev/sdg Checking for bad blocks in read-write mode From block</span><span style="color: #EBBCBA;"> 0</span><span style="color: #F6C177;"> to</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #EBBCBA;">1953506559</span><span style="color: #F6C177;"> Testing with pattern 0xaa: done</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #EBBCBA;">Reading</span><span style="color: #F6C177;"> and comparing: done</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #EBBCBA;">Testing</span><span style="color: #F6C177;"> with pattern 0x55: done</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #EBBCBA;">Reading</span><span style="color: #F6C177;"> and comparing: done</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #EBBCBA;">Testing</span><span style="color: #F6C177;"> with pattern 0xff: done</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #EBBCBA;">Reading</span><span style="color: #F6C177;"> and comparing: done</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #EBBCBA;">Testing</span><span style="color: #F6C177;"> with pattern 0x00: done</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #EBBCBA;">Reading</span><span style="color: #F6C177;"> and comparing: done</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #EBBCBA;">Pass</span><span style="color: #F6C177;"> completed,</span><span style="color: #EBBCBA;"> 0</span><span style="color: #F6C177;"> bad blocks found.</span><span> (0/0/0</span><span style="color: #F6C177;"> errors</span><span>)</span></span></code></pre>
<p>This takes approximately 123 hours (5 days) for a 8TB disk.</p>
<h3 id="3-zfs-format">3) ZFS format</h3>
<p>It is possible to find compression errors with compression on, which would be
missed with compression off. Therefore we <strong>turn on compression.</strong></p>
<pre class="giallo" style="color: #E0DEF4; background-color: #191724;"><code data-lang="shellscript"><span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #EBBCBA;">zpool</span><span style="color: #F6C177;"> create</span><span style="color: #31748F;"> -f -o</span><span style="color: #F6C177;"> ashift=</span><span style="color: #EBBCBA;">12</span><span style="color: #31748F;"> -O</span><span style="color: #F6C177;"> logbias=throughput</span><span style="color: #31748F;"> -O</span><span style="color: #F6C177;"> compress=lz4</span><span style="color: #31748F;"> -O</span><span style="color: #F6C177;"> dedup=off</span><span style="color: #31748F;"> -O</span><span style="color: #F6C177;"> atime=off</span><span style="color: #31748F;"> -O</span><span style="color: #F6C177;"> xattr=sa TESTrunpool /dev/sd</span><span style="font-style: italic;">*</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #EBBCBA;">zpool</span><span style="color: #F6C177;"> export TESTrunpool</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #EBBCBA;">sudo</span><span style="color: #F6C177;"> zpool import</span><span style="color: #31748F;"> -d</span><span style="color: #F6C177;"> /dev/disk/by-id TESTrunpool</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #EBBCBA;">sudo</span><span style="color: #F6C177;"> chmod</span><span style="color: #31748F;"> -R</span><span style="color: #F6C177;"> ugo+rw /TESTrunpool</span></span></code></pre><h3 id="4-fill-test-with-f3">4) Fill Test with F3</h3>
<pre class="giallo" style="color: #E0DEF4; background-color: #191724;"><code data-lang="shellscript"><span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #EBBCBA;">f3write</span><span style="color: #F6C177;"> /TESTrunpool</span><span style="color: #908CAA;"> &&</span><span style="color: #EBBCBA;"> f3read</span><span style="color: #F6C177;"> /TESTrunpool</span></span></code></pre><h3 id="5-zfs-scrub">5) ZFS Scrub</h3>
<p>To check for read, write and checksum errors.</p>
<pre class="giallo" style="color: #E0DEF4; background-color: #191724;"><code data-lang="plain"><span class="giallo-l"><span>zpool scrub TESTrunpool</span></span></code></pre><h3 id="finished">Finished</h3>
<p>All tests passed? Great, you have a good drive! Still, don’t forget harddrives
break a lot, more then any other part in a computer.</p>
<p>If not, contact the reseller and send it back or get a refund. Write down the
serial number and the test results.</p>
<pre class="giallo" style="color: #E0DEF4; background-color: #191724;"><code data-lang="plain"><span class="giallo-l"><span>8TB wwn-0x5000cca267e4a96d - Passed</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span>8TB wwn-0x5000cca27dc2265e - Passed</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span>8TB wwn-0x5000cca099c4d828 - Failed, 12 -Read errors, non recoverable, drive is</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span>unsafe to use.</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span>8TB wwn-0x5000cca099c4d828 - Failed, CheckSum errors, possibly recoverable,</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span>drive use is not recommended.</span></span></code></pre><h2 id="2026-reflection">2026 reflection</h2>
<p>The procedure still works exactly as written. SMART, badblocks, and ZFS
scrub have not changed in five years, and spinning disks still fail in
the same ways they always have. If anything, the advice is more relevant
now: high-capacity drives (16-20 TB) are common for home NAS builds, and
a multi-day burn-in test on a drive that large saves real grief later.</p>
<p>What shifted: NVMe SSDs handle most primary storage now, so this test
mostly applies to bulk and backup drives. The core principle, though,
applies everywhere: test before you trust, and keep two copies. That same
instinct drives the declarative, version-controlled approach I use for
my <a href="/about">Home Assistant setup</a> and infrastructure.</p>
Markdown Examples2021-03-19T10:00:00+01:002021-03-19T10:00:00+01:00
Joost van der Laan
https://joostvanderlaan.nl/2021-03-19-markdown/<h2 id="h2-heading">h2 Heading</h2>
<h3 id="h3-heading">h3 Heading</h3>
<h4 id="h4-heading">h4 Heading</h4>
<h5 id="h5-heading">h5 Heading</h5>
<h6 id="h6-heading">h6 Heading</h6>
<h2 id="emphasis">Emphasis</h2>
<p><strong>This is bold text</strong></p>
<p><em>This is italic text</em></p>
<p><del>Strikethrough</del></p>
<h2 id="blockquotes">Blockquotes</h2>
<blockquote>
<p>Develop. Preview. Ship. – Vercel</p>
</blockquote>
<h2 id="lists">Lists</h2>
<p>Unordered</p>
<ul>
<li>Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet</li>
<li>Consectetur adipiscing elit</li>
<li>Integer molestie lorem at massa</li>
</ul>
<p>Ordered</p>
<ol>
<li>Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet</li>
<li>Consectetur adipiscing elit</li>
<li>Integer molestie lorem at massa</li>
</ol>
<h2 id="code">Code</h2>
<p>Inline <code>code</code></p>
<pre class="giallo" style="color: #E0DEF4; background-color: #191724;"><code data-lang="plain"><span class="giallo-l"><span>export default function Nextra({ Component, pageProps }) {</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span> return (</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span> <></span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span> <Head></span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span> <link</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span> rel="alternate"</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span> type="application/rss+xml"</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span> title="RSS"</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span> href="/feed.xml"</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span> /></span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span> <link</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span> rel="preload"</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span> href="/fonts/Inter-roman.latin.var.woff2"</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span> as="font"</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span> type="font/woff2"</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span> crossOrigin="anonymous"</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span> /></span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span> </Head></span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span> <Component {...pageProps} /></span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span> </></span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span> )</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span>}</span></span></code></pre><h2 id="tables">Tables</h2>
<table><thead><tr><th><strong>Option</strong></th><th><strong>Description</strong></th></tr></thead><tbody>
<tr><td>First</td><td>Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua.</td></tr>
<tr><td>Second</td><td>Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua.</td></tr>
<tr><td>Third</td><td>Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<h2 id="links">Links</h2>
<ul>
<li><a class="external-link" rel="noopener external" target="_blank" href="https://nextjs.org">Next.js</a></li>
<li><a class="external-link" rel="noopener external" target="_blank" href="https://nextra.vercel.app/">Nextra</a></li>
<li><a class="external-link" rel="noopener external" target="_blank" href="http://vercel.com">Vercel</a></li>
</ul>
<h3 id="footnotes">Footnotes</h3>
<ul>
<li>Footnote <sup class="footnote-reference"><a href="#1">1</a></sup>.</li>
<li>Footnote <sup class="footnote-reference"><a href="#2">2</a></sup>.</li>
</ul>
<div class="footnote-definition" id="1"><sup class="footnote-definition-label">1</sup>
<p>Footnote <strong>can have markup</strong></p>
<p>and multiple paragraphs.</p>
</div>
<div class="footnote-definition" id="2"><sup class="footnote-definition-label">2</sup>
<p>Footnote text.</p>
</div>
Convert HEIC to JPEG using Imagemagick2021-03-17T19:53:18+01:002021-03-17T19:53:18+01:00
Joost van der Laan
https://joostvanderlaan.nl/2021-03-17-convert-heic/<p>With Imagemagick it is pretty straightforward to convert HEIC files. Version 7
has HEIC support built-in.</p>
<h2 id="install-imagemagick">Install ImageMagick</h2>
<p>Install ImageMagick from Homebrew.</p>
<pre class="giallo" style="color: #E0DEF4; background-color: #191724;"><code data-lang="shellscript"><span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #EBBCBA;">brew</span><span style="color: #F6C177;"> install imagemagick</span></span></code></pre>
<p>For older versions you had to install Imagemagick with
<code>brew install --with-libheif imagemagick</code> on MacOS or compile from source on
Linux. Because it now has HEIC enabled by default, that’s not needed anymore.
The –with-libheif option was needed to tell Homebrew to compile with HEIF
support, which allows it to handle .heic images.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>libheif is an <code>ISO/IEC 23008-12:2017</code> HEIF and AVIF (AV1 Image File Format)
file format decoder and encoder.</p>
</blockquote>
<h3 id="convert-heic-to-jpeg">Convert HEIC to JPEG</h3>
<pre class="giallo" style="color: #E0DEF4; background-color: #191724;"><code data-lang="shellscript"><span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #EBBCBA;">mogrify</span><span style="color: #31748F;"> -format</span><span style="color: #F6C177;"> jpg</span><span style="font-style: italic;"> *</span><span style="color: #F6C177;">.heic</span></span></code></pre><h3 id="delete-originals">Delete originals</h3>
<pre class="giallo" style="color: #E0DEF4; background-color: #191724;"><code data-lang="shellscript"><span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #EBBCBA;">rm</span><span style="font-style: italic;"> *</span><span style="color: #F6C177;">.heic</span></span></code></pre>Photography Workflow for Linux and MacOS2021-03-12T09:37:18+01:002021-03-12T09:37:18+01:00
Joost van der Laan
https://joostvanderlaan.nl/2021-03-12-photography-workflow/<ol>
<li>Importing – (Rapid Photo Downloader)</li>
<li>Culling – Digikam (Photo Mechanic MacOS)</li>
<li>Organizing – (Digikam)</li>
<li>Editing – (Darktable/GIMP/Lightroom)</li>
<li>Backup – (Borg backup)</li>
</ol>
<h2 id="an-overview">An overview</h2>
<p>First of all, you take photos with your camera. When you’re happy with the
results, you want to import them to your computer to start the rest of the
workflow discussed here. Preferably, at that point you already take a backup of
the photos imported to your computer or keep them on your memory card, to make
sure the photo’s are always available in 2 places. Nothing worse then loosing
your best shots! After importing, you need to sort and organize the photos. Once
that is done, the RAW files must be processed and edited. Done? Now’s a good
time to share your pictures with your friends via cloud photo sharing services
or maybe your own website gallery.</p>
<p>Let’s get started.</p>
<h2 id="import-and-culling-sorting-picking-cleaning">Import and Culling (sorting, picking, cleaning)</h2>
<ul>
<li>Linux: Rapid photo downloader</li>
<li>MacOS: Photo Mechanic</li>
</ul>
<h3 id="1-importing">1. Importing</h3>
<p>Rapid Photo Downloader is a Linux replacement for PhotoMechanic’s ingest and
rename feature.</p>
<p>How you name your files is somewhat up to personal preference, as a wedding
photographer might want different filenames then a travel photographer. There is
good and bad practices in file naming, however.</p>
<h4 id="organise-by-date-and-location">Organise by date and location</h4>
<p>My main folder structure goes like this:</p>
<p><code>YYYY/YYYYMMDD_JobCode</code></p>
<p><code>2020/20200228_MexicoCuba</code></p>
<p>If you are a travel photographer and want to go more detailed, you could use:</p>
<p><code>YYYY/YYYYMMDD_Country_Location</code></p>
<p>Example: <code>2021/2021-01-18_Netherlands_Amsterdam</code></p>
<p>Set with destination folder: Date and job code</p>
<p>For the file naming I use:</p>
<p><code>Year Month Day _ VANDERLAAN _ Job Code _ Random Sequence**</code></p>
<p>Which in Rapid Photo Downloader translates to:</p>
<p><code><Image date (YYYYMMDD)>_VANDERLAAN_<Job code>_<Downloads today (One digit)></code></p>
<p><code><Video date (YYYYMMDD)>_VANDERLAAN_<Job code>_<Downloads today (One digit)></code></p>
<p><strong>Important!</strong> The last number should be a random sequence, to have unique photo
numbers.</p>
<p>Example:</p>
<pre class="giallo" style="color: #E0DEF4; background-color: #191724;"><code data-lang="plain"><span class="giallo-l"><span>20201205_VANDERLAAN_USA_Holiday_1.cr2</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span>20201205_VANDERLAAN_USA_Holiday_2.cr2</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span>20201205_VANDERLAAN_USA_Holiday_3.cr2</span></span></code></pre>
<p><img src="/images/posts/fotografie-workflow/image-20201205132420047.png" alt="image-20201205132420047" /></p>
<p>For every new import or partial import, you create a new job code or use a
pre-existing one. Select the job code and import your photos at once.</p>
<h4 id="alternative-file-naming-for-travel">Alternative file naming for travel</h4>
<p><code>Year Month Day _ VANDERLAAN _ Country ISO Code _ Random Sequence**</code></p>
<h2 id="keep-2-copies-at-all-times">Keep 2 copies at all times</h2>
<p>You don’t want to lose photos.</p>
<p>After import, run <a class="external-link" rel="noopener external" target="_blank" href="https://borgbackup.readthedocs.io/en/stable/">Borg backup</a> to
make sure the pictures folder is backed up.</p>
<p>Digikam linux - a Linux tool for serious photographers</p>
<h2 id="2-culling-sorting-picking-rating-and-cleaning">2. Culling (sorting, picking, rating and cleaning)</h2>
<ul>
<li>Linux: Digikam</li>
<li>MacOS: Photo Mechanic</li>
</ul>
<p>Once the photos are imported and renamed, I am going to start culling trough
them. This means I work my way trough them one by one in Digikam.</p>
<p><strong>Out of focus, blurry, or accidental shots are tagged to be deleted.</strong> I often
already delete them on-camera when I see them.</p>
<blockquote>
<p><strong>If nobody will use or buy this photo, delete it.</strong></p>
</blockquote>
<p>Only the photos I think might be worth it, get <strong>1 star</strong>, to inspect later on.</p>
<p>Be quick and use your instinct.</p>
<ol>
<li>Remove blurry, error, out of focus photos.</li>
<li>1 star for pictures that stand out on first look. Keyboard shortcut:
<code>Ctrl-0...5</code></li>
</ol>
<h3 id="digikam-tagging-shortcuts">Digikam tagging shortcuts</h3>
<p><img src="/images/posts/fotografie-workflow/image-20201211142003498.png" alt="image-20201211142003498" /></p>
<h2 id="image-20201211142020004"><img src="/images/posts/fotografie-workflow/image-20201211142020004.png" alt="image-20201211142020004" /></h2>
<h2 id="image-20201211142040359"><img src="/images/posts/fotografie-workflow/image-20201211142040359.png" alt="image-20201211142040359" /></h2>
<h2 id="embedding-metadata-tags">Embedding Metadata & Tags</h2>
<p><a class="external-link" rel="noopener external" target="_blank" href="https://userbase.kde.org/Digikam/TaggingEfficient">https://userbase.kde.org/Digikam/TaggingEfficient</a></p>
<p>Add tags, geolocation. Tags in Digikam:</p>
<p>Country/Cuba, City/Havana, Trip/MexicoCuba</p>
<p>Go to: Captions > tags tab</p>
<p><img src="/images/posts/fotografie-workflow/image-20201206124734815.png" alt="image-20201206124734815" /></p>
<h3 id="iptc-vs-exif-metadata">IPTC vs. EXIF metadata</h3>
<p>People working in media and news use IPTC metadata, which contains things like a
description, keywords, credits and copyright information. This needs to be
embedded in every photo to know the who, what, where of it.</p>
<h3 id="tools">Tools</h3>
<p>Use Digikam.</p>
<h4 id="alternatives">Alternatives</h4>
<ul>
<li>Use gThumb <strong>only for metadata</strong></li>
<li>Geeqie, a lightweight yet flexible image viewer with a slew of nifty features.
For starters, Geeqie is lightning fast, and it can handle RAW files courtesy
of the UFRaw software. Better yet, Geeqie can batch convert RAW files to the
JPEG format</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="3-editing">3. Editing</h2>
<h3 id="add-photos-to-catalog-for-using-lightroom-or-darktable-only">Add photos to catalog (For using Lightroom or Darktable only)</h3>
<p>If you want to use Lightroom (on MacOS) instead of Digikam, we now need to add
the photos to the catalog. Be aware that Lightroom catalogs are not very
portable & flexible, if you ever decide to use another tool then Lightroom. I
like the software, but not the lock-in, therefore I don’t use it.</p>
<p>For Darktable, a Linux alternative to Lightroom, you need to import your photos
here as well.</p>
<p>When using Digikam, you can skip this step.</p>
<h3 id="create-collections-sets">Create collections & sets</h3>
<h3 id="edit-photos">Edit photos</h3>
<p>Use your editor of choice to edit photos. There are tons of options here.</p>
<ul>
<li>Photoshop (MacOS)</li>
<li>GIMP (Linux)</li>
</ul>
<p><img src="/images/posts/fotografie-workflow/external-content.duckduckgo.com.jpeg" alt="external-content.duckduckgo.com" /></p>
<p><img src="/images/posts/fotografie-workflow/7415939656_3df39e630f_o.jpg" alt="external-content.duckduckgo.com" /></p>
<p>“Photography Cheat Sheet” by Michael Kanemoto is licensed under
<a class="external-link" rel="noopener external" target="_blank" href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/">CC BY-NC-SA 2.0</a>.</p>
Decision Making on short, medium and long term2020-05-23T10:47:26+02:002020-05-23T10:47:26+02:00
Joost van der Laan
https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/decision-making-on-short-medium-and-long-term/<p>A chain of mental models, one per decision time horizon, from lifetime choices down to daily tasks.</p>
<h2 id="the-idea">The idea</h2>
<p>Making decisions</p>
<p>We can follow a similar chain of mental models when making decisions.</p>
<h2 id="how-to-apply-it">How to apply it</h2>
<ol>
<li>Regret Minimization</li>
</ol>
<p>Make long-term decisions using Regret Minimization: Choose whichever option you’ll most regret not
having done when looking back at the end of your life. This is how you optimize for long-term
happiness. When you’re done this post, see my other post on choosing your career path using Regret
Minimization.</p>
<ol start="2">
<li>Pareto’s Principle</li>
</ol>
<p>Make medium-term decisions using this model: to maximize ROI, preferentially invest in the top 20%
of inputs.</p>
<p>This is how you optimize each year or decade of your life. Personally, this is how I decide who to
spend time with, which skills to hone, and which businesses to build.</p>
<ol start="3">
<li>ICE</li>
</ol>
<p>Make short-term decisions using this model: When facing many options needing prioritization, score
each on a scale of 1-10 using three variables.</p>
<pre class="giallo" style="color: #E0DEF4; background-color: #191724;"><code data-lang="plain"><span class="giallo-l"><span>The positive impact it would have if it succeeds.</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span>The confidence you have that it will succeed if you try it.</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span>How easy it would be to try it.</span></span></code></pre>
<p>For each option, average its three numbers to get its ICE score. Then order all your options by
their ICE scores. Options at the top of your list will have the highest expected value and should be
given priority.</p>
<p>This is how you plan your life on the timescale of weeks or months. This is how my business decides
which growth projects to pursue.</p>
<ol start="4">
<li>Eisenhower Matrix</li>
</ol>
<p>Finally, this is how you make day-to-day decisions: Make a 2x2 grid with axes labeled “Important”
and “Urgent.” Bucket your daily tasks into the four quadrants and prioritize them in this order:
important and urgent, important but non-urgent, unimportant but urgent, and unimportant and
non-urgent.</p>
<p>Refer to this image. “Your skill in anything is based on the number and quality of mental
representations you have for the skill. For example, chess players improve most by studying and
challenging themselves with expert matches. They build mental representations of others’ games,
which help them improve much more than simply playing more games.” — Anders Ericsson</p>
<h2 id="related-models">Related models</h2>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/regret-minimization/">Regret Minimization</a> — the long-term layer of this chain.</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/prioritization-8020-pareto/">Prioritization 80/20 Pareto</a> — the medium-term layer of this chain.</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/ice-framework/">ICE Framework</a> — the short-term layer of this chain.</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/eisenhower-matrix/">Eisenhower Matrix</a> — the daily layer of this chain.</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/deliberate-practice/">Deliberate Practice</a> — the closing note on skill-building relates to this.</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="sources">Sources</h2>
<p><a class="external-link" rel="noopener external" target="_blank" href="https://www.julian.com/blog/mental-model-examples">www.julian.com/blog/mental-model-examples</a></p>
Objectives and Key Results (OKRs)2020-05-23T09:50:32+02:002020-05-23T09:50:32+02:00
Joost van der Laan
https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/objectives-and-key-results-okrs/<p>Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) is a goal-setting framework used to align a company’s strategy
and track its execution.</p>
<h2 id="the-idea">The idea</h2>
<h3 id="what-are-okrs">What are OKRs</h3>
<p>Objectives and Key Results (<a class="external-link" rel="noopener external" target="_blank" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OKR">OKRs</a>) are quarterly, yearly, and
sometimes monthly objectives. They lay out a company plan to execute strategy and help make sure
that the company goals and how to achieve them are clear for everyone in the company. Often, this
means OKR’s are shared throughout a company transparently.</p>
<p>The <strong>Objectives</strong> help everyone understand <em>what</em> the company aims to do and the <strong>Key Results</strong>
help paint the picture of <em>how</em> we’ll measure success.</p>
<p><strong>Objective:</strong> What you’re going to accomplish <strong>Key Results:</strong> The metrics to know if the objective
was achieved.</p>
<p>The OKR methodology was pioneered by Andy Grove at Intel and has since helped companies around the
world. John Doerr wrote a book about OKR’s and their power. Superpowers, as he calls them.</p>
<h3 id="okrs-are-what-is-different">OKRs are what is different</h3>
<p>The OKRs are what initiatives a company is focusing on in a given quarter specifically. The most
important work is things that happen every quarter. These tend to have a more operational nature.
Things that happen every quarter are measured with Key Performance Indicators (KPI’s). Part of the
OKRs will be KPI’s or cause changes in KPIs.</p>
<h2 id="how-to-apply-it">How to apply it</h2>
<h3 id="the-superpowers-of-okr-s">The superpowers of OKR’s</h3>
<p>OKRs have four superpowers:</p>
<ul>
<li>Focus</li>
<li>Alignment</li>
<li>Tracking</li>
<li>Stretch - uitleg uit boek</li>
</ul>
<p><em>Less is more</em> - “A few extremely well chosen objectives make it very clear to what we say ‘yes’ and
to what we say ‘no’” 3 objectives is good, 5 is the absolute maximum. (per: company, team,
individual) <em>Set goals from the bottom up</em> - Promote engagement, teams and individuals should set
~50% of their own OKR’s, in consultation with managers. <em>No dictating</em> - Cooperative social contract
for priorities and progress. Collective agreement. <em>Stay flexible</em> - No need to stick to objectives
if climate changed. <em>Dare to fail</em> - failure = progress. Though there are operational objectives
that must be met in full. Uptime of 99.95% for example. Aspirational objectives must be stretch
goals however. <em>A tool, not a weapon.</em> In short, dont’t link it to performance reviews. Just don’t.
Unlinking it encourages risk taking and prevents sandbagging. <em>Be patient, be resolute</em> - trial and
error, be agile and adapt. You will get better at it.</p>
<p>It’s best to not couple OKR’s to performance reviews. Do not use them for compensation review or to
give performance feedback. For example, people will start sandbagging instead of setting stretch
goals if you do.</p>
<p>At least around 50% of OKR’s should be set bottom-up. Also, when starting with OKR’s, expect to
require 4-5 quarters of OKR setting to get the hang of it.</p>
<ul>
<li>“What” and “How”</li>
<li>Quarterly or Monthly</li>
<li>Public and transparent</li>
<li>Bottom-up or Sideways (~50%)</li>
<li>Mostly divorced from compensation</li>
<li>Agressive and aspirational (as opposed to risk averse)</li>
</ul>
<h3 id="okrs-are-stretch-goals-by-default">OKRs are stretch goals by default</h3>
<p>OKRs should be ambitious but achievable. Stretch goals. If you achieve less than 60% of your KR, it
may have not been achievable. If you are regularly achieving 100% of your KRs, your goals may not be
ambitious enough.</p>
<p><strong>Aim for an achievement rate of 60-70%</strong></p>
<h3 id="shared-objectives">Shared Objectives</h3>
<p>If there is something important that requires two (or more) parts of the organization, all leaders
involved should share the same, or a similar objective. Key results should not conflict so each can
achieve things within their own sphere of control. This helps with accountability.</p>
<h2 id="related-models">Related models</h2>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/north-star/">North Star</a> — sets the longer-term direction that OKRs execute toward.</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/big-hairy-audacious-goal-bhag/">Big Hairy Audacious Goal (BHAG)</a> — a more aspirational,
longer-horizon goal type.</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/smart/">SMART</a> — an alternative goal-setting format for individual objectives.</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="sources">Sources</h2>
<p><a class="external-link" rel="noopener external" target="_blank" href="https://sloanreview.mit.edu/article/with-goals-fast-beats-smart/">FAST INSTEAD OF SMART GOALS</a></p>
Typefaces Fonts2020-02-01T17:35:43+01:002020-02-01T17:35:43+01:00
Joost van der Laan
https://joostvanderlaan.nl/2020-02-01-typefaces-fonts/<p>Generally speaking, there are two types of typography– expressive typography
(type is visual, carries the meaning of the word and sometimes appears as
physical shapes) and functional typography (type that is meant to be read). I
will focus on the latter.</p>
<p>When starting out, it is best to learn the fundamentals of good design:
hierarchy (primary, secondary and tierchiary reads), flow (how a person “reads”
the layout by following the movement of their attention), legibility (in Western
culture, type is read top to bottom, left to right so it’s important to arrange
type accordingly), grouping (organizing blocks of type in intelligent and
logical groups) and interest, achieved through contrast (scale, texture, color,
density, negative space).</p>
<p>Skip 1 size: bold & thin, not bold & regular</p>
<p>Use any typeface you like as long as it’s one of the following: <strong>Akzidenz
Grotesque, Avenir, Avant Garde, Bell Gothic, Bodoni, Bembo, Caslon, Clarendon,
Courier, Din Mittelschrift, Franklin Gothic, Frutiger, Futura, Garamond, Gill
Sans, Gotham, Helvetica, Letter Gothic, Memphis, Meta, OCRB, Rockwell, Sabon,
Trade Gothic, Trajan and Univers.</strong></p>
<h2 id="futur-designers-recommendations-youtube"><a class="external-link" rel="noopener external" target="_blank" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QrNi9FmdlxY">Futur designers recommendations (youtube)</a></h2>
<table><thead><tr><th>Font</th><th>Type of font</th><th><a class="external-link" rel="noopener external" target="_blank" href="https://support.apple.com/nl-nl/HT208968">On Mac</a></th><th>modern font that has been drawn with the screen in mind.?</th></tr></thead><tbody>
<tr><td>Akzidenz Grotesque</td><td></td><td>on MAc</td><td></td></tr>
<tr><td>Avenir</td><td></td><td>Yes (& Avenir Next)</td><td></td></tr>
<tr><td><a class="external-link" rel="noopener external" target="_blank" href="http://typ.io/fonts/itc_avant_garde">Avant Garde</a></td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr>
<tr><td>Bell Gothic</td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr>
<tr><td><a class="external-link" rel="noopener external" target="_blank" href="http://typ.io/fonts/bodoni">Bodoni</a></td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr>
<tr><td>Bembo</td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr>
<tr><td>Caslon</td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr>
<tr><td>Clarendon</td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr>
<tr><td>Courier</td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr>
<tr><td>Monospace Din Mittelschrift</td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr>
<tr><td>Franklin Gothic</td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr>
<tr><td>Frutiger Futura</td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr>
<tr><td>Geometric Sans</td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr>
<tr><td>Garamond</td><td>Serif</td><td></td><td></td></tr>
<tr><td>Gill Sans</td><td>Sans</td><td></td><td></td></tr>
<tr><td>Gotham</td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr>
<tr><td>Helvetica</td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr>
<tr><td>Letter Gothic</td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr>
<tr><td>Memphis</td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr>
<tr><td>Meta</td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr>
<tr><td>OCRB</td><td>Monospace</td><td></td><td></td></tr>
<tr><td>Rockwell</td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr>
<tr><td>Sabon</td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr>
<tr><td>Trade Gothic</td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr>
<tr><td>Trajan</td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr>
<tr><td>Univers</td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<h2 id="fonts-on-mac">Fonts on Mac</h2>
<p><a class="external-link" rel="noopener external" target="_blank" href="https://support.apple.com/nl-nl/HT208968">support.apple.com/nl-nl/HT208968</a></p>
<p>From the list: Avenir (& Avenir Next) Bodoni Courier (& Courier New) Futura
(Futura Condensed) (NOT futura PT) Gill Sans Helvetica (& Helvetica Neue)
Rockwell</p>
<p>Interesting: Apple also has Noto (google, very extensive, All LAnguages all
countries, Ikea switched to it.)</p>
<h2 id="joost-s-notes">Joost’s Notes</h2>
<p><strong>More styles & weights = better</strong>, especially when considering <strong>mobile</strong></p>
<p>Optimized and redesigned for screen</p>
<h3 id="for-programming">For programming</h3>
<p>Inconsolata (better then Courier or Courier New)</p>
<h3 id="sans-serif-serif">Sans Serif & Serif</h3>
<p><a class="external-link" rel="noopener external" target="_blank" href="https://www.webdesignerdepot.com/2013/03/serif-vs-sans-the-final-battle/">serif-vs-sans-the-final-battle</a></p>
<h4 id="sans">Sans</h4>
<p>Akzidenz Grotesque; Very old, predecessor of HElvetica Helvetica Neue: misses
character of original Helvetica (Neue Haas Grotesk) Neue Haas Grotesk =
Helvetica (1957) but also has a 2010 redesigned version for digital. Helvetica
Now (2019) does something similar.
<a class="external-link" rel="noopener external" target="_blank" href="https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-difference-between-Neue-Helvetica-Pro-Neue-Helvetica-Pro-eText-Neue-Haas-Grotesk-and-Neue-Haas-Grotesk-eText">Differences</a>
<a class="external-link" rel="noopener external" target="_blank" href="https://www.quora.com/What-if-any-are-the-significant-differences-between-Neue-Haas-Unica-and-Helvetica-Why-do-they-matter">www.quora.com/What-if-any-are-the-significant-differences-between-Neue-Haas-Unica-and-Helvetica-Why-do-they-matter</a></p>
<h4 id="serif">Serif</h4>
<p>Georgia reads better on screen than Garamond Georgia has a huge advantage over
Garamond on-screen because it was designed to be displayed as such from the very
beginning
<a class="external-link" rel="noopener external" target="_blank" href="https://designforhackers.com/blog/garamond/">designforhackers.com/blog/garamond/</a></p>
<p>an impressive 326ppi. Now, we’re starting to get some display technologies that
are approaching the quality of paper when it comes to displaying letterforms
readably.</p>
<p>So, maybe some day Garamond can make its comeback.</p>
<h5 id="futura-brandon">Futura / Brandon</h5>
<p>Brandon Grotesque is one of my favorites on this list. It’s also the closest to
Futura, maybe that’s a pattern. I’ve discussed Brandon Grotesque before, when I
layed out alternatives to Helvetica, which I do see as a slight oversight.
Brandon is much closer to Futura than it is to Helvetica. It relatively retains
the same shape and density. What makes Brandon different and distinctive, is the
rounded corners of its ends, which is subtle as hell, I know, but rounded ends
has incredible influence on a typeface. It makes Brandon friendlier and more
approachable than Futura.</p>
<p>Serif typefaces tend to be thought of as classic and traditional, whereas
sans-serif typefaces are thought of as more modern and contemporary. The fine
details of serifs, especially the more delicate and high-contrast designs, don’t
always display well on screens, especially at small sizes on low-resolution
displays. I think all of this will change in the next few years though as
high-resolution screens are becoming more common. Expect to see more delicate,
high-contrast serifs being used on the web in the near future.
<a class="external-link" rel="noopener external" target="_blank" href="https://www.typewolf.com/top-10-serif-fonts">www.typewolf.com/top-10-serif-fonts</a></p>
<p><a class="external-link" rel="noopener external" target="_blank" href="https://www.typewolf.com/guides">www.typewolf.com/guides</a></p>
<p><a class="external-link" rel="noopener external" target="_blank" href="https://www.typewolf.com/adobe-fonts">www.typewolf.com/adobe-fonts</a></p>
<h2 id="variable-fonts">Variable fonts</h2>
<p><a class="external-link" rel="noopener external" target="_blank" href="https://developers.google.com/web/fundamentals/design-and-ux/typography/variable-fonts/">Introduction to Variable fonts</a></p>
<p>upcoming in 2019, offers lots of flexibility & CSS transitions. Limited fonts
available.</p>
<p>Benefits</p>
<ul>
<li>flexibility</li>
<li>File size - Monotype ran an experiment by combining 12 input fonts to generate
eight weights, across three widths, across both the Italic and Roman styles.
Storing 48 individual fonts in a single variable font file meant a 88%
reduction in file size.</li>
</ul>
<p>Avenir Next - Demo, removed from GitHub</p>
<p><a class="external-link" rel="noopener external" target="_blank" href="https://www.monotype.com/resources/articles/variable-fonts-making-the-promise-a-reality/">www.monotype.com/resources/articles/variable-fonts-making-the-promise-a-reality/</a></p>
<p><a class="external-link" rel="noopener external" target="_blank" href="https://github.com/TypeNetwork/Amstelvar">Amstelvar Alpha (gebaseerd op Nederlandse ontwerpen)</a></p>
<p><a class="external-link" rel="noopener external" target="_blank" href="https://www.typenetwork.com/brochure/decovar-a-decorative-variable-font-by-david-berlow">Decovar (zeer decoratief, schildpadjes e.d.)</a></p>
<h2 id="install-fonts-linux">Install fonts Linux</h2>
<p>Step 3 : Install the fonts On Linux systems, font binaries are generally
installed in either the system font directory on the path <code>/usr/share/fonts/</code> or
in a user font directory that is frequently on one of the following paths:
<code>~/.local/share/fonts/</code> or <code>/usr/local/share/fonts</code>. We’ll use the
<code>~/.local/share/fonts/</code> path in this example. If the directory does not exist,
create it with the following command:</p>
<pre class="giallo" style="color: #E0DEF4; background-color: #191724;"><code data-lang="shellscript"><span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #EBBCBA;">mkdir</span><span style="color: #F6C177;"> ~/.local/share/fonts</span></span></code></pre>
<p>Move your font binaries to the destination directory with mv:</p>
<pre class="giallo" style="color: #E0DEF4; background-color: #191724;"><code data-lang="plain"><span class="giallo-l"><span>mv ttf/Hack-Regular.ttf ~/.local/share/fonts/Hack-Regular.ttf</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span>mv ttf/Hack-Italic.ttf ~/.local/share/fonts/Hack-Italic.ttf $ mv ttf/Hack-Bold.ttf ~/.local/share/fonts/Hack-Bold.ttf</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span>mv ttf/Hack-BoldItalic.ttf ~/.local/share/fonts/Hack-BoldItalic.ttf</span></span></code></pre><h2 id="helvetica-now">Helvetica Now</h2>
<p>Do not download from obscure sites like <code>en.bestfonts.pro</code>, this is illegal.
Support the creators of a font by buying a commercial license whe you are using
it, for example on <a class="external-link" rel="noopener external" target="_blank" href="https://fonts.adobe.com">fonts.adobe.com</a>,
<a class="external-link" rel="noopener external" target="_blank" href="https://fonts.com">fonts.com</a> etc.</p>
<h2 id="2026-reflection">2026 reflection</h2>
<p>The section on variable fonts aged well. In 2020, variable fonts were still
niche; by 2026, they are the default for web typography. This site now
self-hosts Inter Variable (weight 400/500) as a licensed stand-in for
Aeonik and IBM Plex Mono for monospace labels, both served as variable or
static subsets via @fontsource packages rather than loaded from Google
Fonts. The note about “more styles & weights = better, especially on
mobile” turned out to be exactly what variable fonts deliver: one file,
every weight, smaller total download.</p>
<p>What changed: the classic typeface list at the top now reads more like
history than a recommendation. Good grotesques (Helvetica, Akzidenz) are
still good, but the practical choice for most web projects has shifted to
open-source variable families that are free to self-host. The advice about
supporting font creators by buying licenses still stands for commercial
typefaces, but the ecosystem of high-quality libre fonts has grown enough
that you can build a professional type system without licensing costs.</p>
Social Proof2020-01-25T11:42:41+01:002020-01-25T11:42:41+01:00
Joost van der Laan
https://joostvanderlaan.nl/behaviour-change/persuasion/social-proof/<p><strong>Work in progress</strong></p>
<p>{/* {{< youtube grxQa2o-jCg >}} */}</p>
<h2 id="pre-suasion-help-to-reach-goals">Pre-suasion, help to reach goals</h2>
<p>Want … Put a picture of a runner on your desk</p>
<p>Want to be analytical put a picture of a the thinker on your desk</p>
<p>Book for grandchildren > want best quality To get that, put picture of grandchildren on desk</p>
<p>{/* {{< youtube lhtghNHVSvU >}} */}</p>
<p>{/* <!-- kopieren / kuddegedrag --> */}</p>
<p>{/* <!– Social-Proof Tendency We are wired to make a huge number of decisions in our life based purely on other people’s actions. The effect is so strong that even if we are surrounded by a small group of people who insist that blue is green, then we’ll question our own reality. Entrepreneurs who create public social proof of their product (i.e. positive customer reviews) get more sales. Michael Simmons & Ian Chew
Our conscious mind is limited. Therefore, we can’t register every detail that we see, hear, feel, taste, and smell in every moment. Our brain unconsciously
makes choices about where our attention flows. One of the ways that it makes this decision is by sudden change. If we hear a loud sound all of a sudden,
our attention immediately goes there.</p>
<p>Social Proof (Safety in Numbers) Human beings are one of many social species, along with bees, ants, and chimps, among many more. We have a DNA-level instinct to seek safety in numbers and will look for social guidance of our behavior. This instinct creates a cohesive sense of cooperation and culture which would not otherwise be possible, but also leads us to do foolish things if our group is doing them as well. Shane Parrish’s Farnam Street Mental Model Guide</p>
<p>Cialdini’s Six Principles of Influence Reciprocity (“People tend to return a favor.”), Commitment (“If people commit…they are more likely to honor that commitment.”), Social Proof (“People will do things they see other people are doing.”), Authority (“People will tend to obey authority figures.”), Liking (“People are easily persuaded by other people they like.”), and Scarcity (“Perceived scarcity will generate demand”). (related: foot-in-the-door technique) Gabriel Weinberg’s Mental Models I Find Repeatedly Useful</p>
<p><a class="external-link" rel="noopener external" target="_blank" href="https://www.google.com/search?ei=2wgrXqD6EcbZwQLulY3gAQ&q=social+proof+persuasion&oq=social+proof+persuasion&gs_l=psy-ab.3..0l2j0i22i30l8.3442.7370..7770...2.2..0.86.689.13......0....1..gws-wiz.......0i71j33i160.2oUji8yd8Ts&ved=0ahUKEwjg05C_wpznAhXGbFAKHe5KAxwQ4dUDCAs&uact=5">search on google</a></p>
<h2 id="affil">affil</h2>
<p>https://www.bol.com/nl/f/influence/9200000077448496/</p>
<p>https://www.amazon.com/Influence-Psychology-Persuasion-Robert-Cialdini/dp/006124189X</p>
<p>https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/28815.Influence</p>
<p>https://www.bol.com/nl/p/invloed/9200000059983017/?bltgh=rvDtfArlZIh2txUjR0xIQg.1_8.10.ProductImage –> */}</p>
Barbell Strategy - Nicholas Nassim Taleb2020-01-25T11:10:16+01:002020-01-25T11:10:16+01:00
Joost van der Laan
https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/barbell-strategy-nicholas-nassim-taleb/<p>The barbell strategy is Nassim Nicholas Taleb’s approach to allocating risk: combine a very safe base with a small, very risky bet, and avoid the volatile middle ground in between.</p>
<h2 id="the-idea">The idea</h2>
<p>90-95% <strong>very</strong> safe, 5-10% <strong>very</strong> risky</p>
<p>The safe portion should be close to bulletproof, built to survive almost any shock. The small speculative portion is where you accept the possibility of losing everything in exchange for a shot at a rare, outsized payoff. The middle ground is what to avoid: it looks moderate but often hides risk without offering that same upside. Getting the split right matters more than the exact numbers — the point is the shape, not the ratio.</p>
<h2 id="when-to-use-it">When to use it</h2>
<ul>
<li>Allocating savings between very safe instruments and a small pool of high-risk, high-upside bets.</li>
<li>Structuring a career around a stable base (a steady job, a core skill) plus small, asymmetric side bets, such as side projects or new skills.</li>
<li>Any decision where a “safe middle” option quietly carries large, underappreciated downside.</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="related-models">Related models</h2>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/probabilistic-thinking/">Probabilistic Thinking</a> — reasoning about outcomes in terms of odds, which underlies how the barbell splits are chosen.</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/regret-minimization/">Regret Minimization</a> — another framework for deciding how much risk to take on.</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="sources">Sources</h2>
<p>see Nicholas Nassim Taleb’s books</p>
<!-- https://www.google.com/search?q=taleb+barbell&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwinpvO0zZrnAhXOk4sKHSe4DZwQ_AUoAXoECAwQAw&biw=2195&bih=1139#imgrc=wajILbi28-dD1M: -->
Big Hairy Audacious Goal (BHAG)2020-01-25T10:00:00+01:002020-01-25T10:00:00+01:00
Joost van der Laan
https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/big-hairy-audacious-goal-bhag/<p>Shoot for the moon, land on the stars</p>
<h2 id="the-idea">The idea</h2>
<ul>
<li>Passion
<ul>
<li><strong>Exciting!</strong> A good BHAG is one you can be passionate about.</li>
<li>What are you enthusiastic about?</li>
<li>Where lies your deepest motivation?</li>
<li>What are you doing it for?</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Skill
<ul>
<li>What do you do best of all?</li>
<li>Best of the whole world?</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Profit
<ul>
<li>What feeds your economic motor?</li>
<li>What realizes your turnover?</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="how-to-apply-it">How to apply it</h2>
<p>Some rules:</p>
<ul>
<li>Set for <strong>20-30 years</strong></li>
<li>Innovative</li>
<li>Action driven</li>
<li>Convincing</li>
<li>Exciting</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="related-models">Related models</h2>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/goal-setting/">Goal Setting</a> — the broader discipline of choosing the right goal before optimizing how to reach it.</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/north-star/">North Star</a> — a single guiding metric or direction that a BHAG can rally toward.</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/smart/">SMART</a> — a framework for shorter-horizon goals, in contrast to the multi-decade scale of a BHAG.</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="sources">Sources</h2>
<p>Coined by Jim Collins and Jerry Porras in <em>Built to Last</em> (1994).</p>
Lollapalooza2020-01-22T23:51:17+01:002020-01-22T23:51:17+01:00
Joost van der Laan
https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/lollapalooza/<p>The Lollapalooza Effect is Charlie Munger’s name for the extreme outcomes that appear when several psychological tendencies act on a situation at once, pushing in the same direction and amplifying each other rather than simply adding up.</p>
<h2 id="the-idea">The idea</h2>
<ul>
<li>Individual biases rarely explain a truly extreme swing in behavior on their own</li>
<li>When several tendencies combine and align, the combined effect can be far larger than the sum of the parts</li>
<li>Munger treated it as the capstone, 25th tendency in his list of psychological tendencies</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="when-to-use-it">When to use it</h2>
<ul>
<li>Explaining events that seem too extreme for any single bias to account for, such as bubbles, manias, or cult-like commitment</li>
<li>Auditing a persuasive pitch or environment for stacked influence techniques</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="how-to-apply-it">How to apply it</h2>
<ol>
<li>When an outcome looks extreme, ask which individual tendencies might be present (social proof, authority, reciprocation, commitment/consistency, liking)</li>
<li>Check whether they are reinforcing each other rather than acting independently</li>
<li>Treat any situation engineered to stack multiple tendencies as high-risk for irrational commitment</li>
</ol>
<h2 id="watch-out-for">Watch out for</h2>
<ul>
<li>Using “lollapalooza” as a catch-all explanation without identifying the specific tendencies actually involved</li>
<li>Underestimating how quickly combined biases escalate compared to a single bias acting alone</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="related-models">Related models</h2>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/kantian-fairness/">Kantian Fairness</a> — one of the tendencies that can combine into a lollapalooza effect</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/liking-loving/">Liking/Loving</a> — another contributing tendency</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/cognitive-biases/">Cognitive Biases</a> — the broader category these tendencies belong to</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="sources">Sources</h2>
<p>Charlie Munger, “The Psychology of Human Misjudgment” (1995 speech), collected in “Poor Charlie’s Almanack”.</p>
Reason Respecting2020-01-22T23:50:33+01:002020-01-22T23:50:33+01:00
Joost van der Laan
https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/reason-respecting/<p>Reason-Respecting Tendency is one of Charlie Munger’s psychological tendencies: people are much more likely to comply with a request, or accept a conclusion, when it comes with a stated reason — even a weak or largely uninformative one.</p>
<h2 id="the-idea">The idea</h2>
<p>Munger argued humans have an innate love of, and respect for, reasons, likely because giving and following reasons has generally paid off over a lifetime of learning. The effect is strong enough that merely attaching the word “because” to a request measurably increases compliance, independent of how good the reason actually is. This is closely related to findings from social psychology on request compliance, where adding a justification — even a circular or near-vacuous one — raised how often people agreed to a request compared to asking with no reason at all.</p>
<h2 id="when-to-use-it">When to use it</h2>
<ul>
<li>Persuading someone to act, where stating the “why” behind a request increases follow-through</li>
<li>Evaluating a claim or instruction that arrived with a reason attached, to check whether the reason is actually load-bearing</li>
<li>Recognizing when you have accepted something mainly because a reason was offered, not because the reason held up</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="how-to-apply-it">How to apply it</h2>
<ol>
<li>When asking others to do something, explain the reason, not just the request.</li>
<li>When receiving a reason, separate “a reason was given” from “the reason is sound.”</li>
<li>Be more skeptical of persuasive requests in exactly the moments when a reason is offered casually or in passing.</li>
</ol>
<h2 id="watch-out-for">Watch out for</h2>
<p>Because the tendency rewards having <em>a</em> reason rather than a <em>good</em> one, it is easily exploited by weak or misleading justifications that merely sound like reasons.</p>
<h2 id="related-models">Related models</h2>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/reciprocation/">Reciprocation</a> — another Munger tendency, and a core lever of influence alongside reason-giving.</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/authority-misinfluence/">Authority Misinfluence</a> — a related tendency where the source of a reason, not its content, drives compliance.</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="sources">Sources</h2>
<p>Charlie Munger, “The Psychology of Human Misjudgment” (speech, 1995, later published in <em>Poor Charlie’s Almanack</em>).</p>
Twaddle2020-01-22T23:50:18+01:002020-01-22T23:50:18+01:00
Joost van der Laan
https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/twaddle/<p>Twaddle Tendency is one of Charlie Munger’s psychological tendencies: the pressure people feel to keep talking, or give a confident answer, even with little real substance to offer.</p>
<h2 id="the-idea">The idea</h2>
<p>Munger included Twaddle Tendency in his “Psychology of Human Misjudgment” speech as a caution about how much verbal output, in speeches, meetings, and commentary, is generated to fill time or meet an expectation of a response rather than because the speaker has something well-founded to say. An audience’s demand for an answer does not guarantee a good answer exists, but the social pressure to respond produces one anyway.</p>
<h2 id="when-to-use-it">When to use it</h2>
<ul>
<li>Noticing a confident answer supplied mainly because a question was asked, not because evidence supports it</li>
<li>Evaluating pundits, forecasters, or advisors expected to have an opinion on everything</li>
<li>Choosing who to listen to: people who withhold an opinion until it’s earned are worth more than those who always have one ready</li>
<li>Reviewing your own output for filler that sounds substantive but adds no information</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="how-to-apply-it">How to apply it</h2>
<ol>
<li>Before answering, check whether you actually know, or are just filling the silence.</li>
<li>Prefer “I don’t know” or a narrower, well-supported answer over a broad, confident one.</li>
<li>Surround yourself with people who hold back an opinion until it’s earned.</li>
<li>When evaluating someone else’s answer, separate how confidently it was delivered from how much evidence backs it.</li>
</ol>
<h2 id="watch-out-for">Watch out for</h2>
<p>Twaddle is easy to produce and easy to reward — audiences often prefer a confident answer to an honest “I don’t know,” reinforcing the tendency in exactly the people whose word carries the most weight.</p>
<h2 id="related-models">Related models</h2>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/excessive-self-regard/">Excessive Self-Regard</a> — a related tendency that inflates confidence in one’s own answers.</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/authority-misinfluence/">Authority Misinfluence</a> — why twaddle from a credentialed source is especially persuasive.</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/lollapalooza/">Lollapalooza</a> — the effect when several such tendencies, including twaddle, combine.</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="sources">Sources</h2>
<p>Charlie Munger, “The Psychology of Human Misjudgment” (speech, 1995, later published in <em>Poor Charlie’s Almanack</em>), and popularized in later summaries of Munger’s tendencies such as Shane Parrish’s Farnam Street guide.</p>
Authority Misinfluence2020-01-22T23:50:08+01:002020-01-22T23:50:08+01:00
Joost van der Laan
https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/authority-misinfluence/<p>Authority-misinfluence tendency is Charlie Munger’s term for the human bias toward automatically trusting and following authority figures, even when they are mistaken or acting outside their expertise.</p>
<h2 id="the-idea">The idea</h2>
<p>People are wired to defer to perceived authority — a boss, an expert, a title, a uniform — often without checking whether the authority is right in this instance. This deference is largely adaptive, since humans function best in coordinated groups with leaders, but it becomes a misjudgment when it overrides direct evidence or plain common sense.</p>
<p>The bias extends past an authority’s actual area of competence: we also tend to trust leaders in domains where they have no special expertise, a related pattern sometimes called the Halo Effect.</p>
<h2 id="when-to-use-it">When to use it</h2>
<p>Treat this as a warning sign rather than a technique: notice it when you find yourself agreeing with someone mainly because of their position rather than the substance of what they are saying.</p>
<h2 id="how-to-apply-it">How to apply it</h2>
<p>Separate the authority’s role from the content of their claim: ask what the evidence says independent of who is saying it, and create explicit space for subordinates or juniors to question a superior’s decision before it is acted on.</p>
<h2 id="watch-out-for">Watch out for</h2>
<p>Hierarchies where dissent is discouraged are especially vulnerable, and it compounds with social pressure: once one authority sets a direction, others fall in line rather than voice doubts. Classic obedience research — Milgram’s shock experiments and Zimbardo’s Stanford Prison Experiment — showed how far people will follow an authority’s instructions, even against their own judgment.</p>
<h2 id="related-models">Related models</h2>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/availability-misweighing/">Availability Misweighing</a> — another of Munger’s misjudgment tendencies.</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/social-proof/">Social Proof</a> — a related tendency to follow the group.</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/twaddle/">Twaddle</a> — why confident talk from an authority is especially persuasive even without substance.</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="sources">Sources</h2>
<p>Charlie Munger, “The Psychology of Human Misjudgment” (speech, 1995). The Milgram obedience experiments (1961) and Zimbardo’s Stanford Prison Experiment (1971) are widely documented in the psychology literature; see also Shane Parrish’s Farnam Street mental models guide and writing on cognitive tendencies by Michael Simmons and Ian Chew.</p>
Availability Misweighing2020-01-22T23:49:42+01:002020-01-22T23:49:42+01:00
Joost van der Laan
https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/availability-misweighing/<p>Availability-misweighing tendency is Charlie Munger’s term for overweighting information that is vivid, recent, or easily recalled, while underweighting information that is just as important but harder to bring to mind.</p>
<h2 id="the-idea">The idea</h2>
<p>The mind treats ease of recall as a proxy for importance or frequency. Dramatic, recent, or emotionally charged examples come to mind easily and get overweighted in judgment, while relevant but less available information — base rates, absent evidence, silent failures — gets ignored simply because it does not surface.</p>
<p>In group settings this can snowball into an availability cascade: a simple explanation of a complex issue spreads because it is easy to repeat and picture, gaining apparent credibility from its own repetition rather than from evidence, even when it is wrong.</p>
<h2 id="when-to-use-it">When to use it</h2>
<p>Notice it when a single vivid anecdote or recent event is doing more work in your reasoning than the underlying statistics warrant.</p>
<h2 id="how-to-apply-it">How to apply it</h2>
<p>Actively seek out the information that is not naturally available: check base rates, look for counterexamples, and ask what evidence would exist if the vivid case were the exception rather than the rule.</p>
<h2 id="watch-out-for">Watch out for</h2>
<p>Media coverage and personal anecdotes are availability engines — they make rare, dramatic events feel common and common, undramatic risks feel rare. Combining availability-misweighing with a habit of only seeking confirming evidence compounds the error.</p>
<h2 id="related-models">Related models</h2>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/authority-misinfluence/">Authority Misinfluence</a> — a related Munger misjudgment tendency, and a common source of cascades.</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/probabilistic-thinking/">Probabilistic Thinking</a> — a corrective habit of reasoning in base rates rather than vivid cases.</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/cognitive-biases/">Cognitive Biases</a> — the broader category this tendency belongs to.</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="sources">Sources</h2>
<p>Charlie Munger, “The Psychology of Human Misjudgment” (speech, 1995). The availability cascade is discussed further in Shane Parrish’s Farnam Street mental models guide and in writing on cognitive tendencies by Michael Simmons and Ian Chew.</p>
Stress Influence2020-01-22T23:49:21+01:002020-01-22T23:49:21+01:00
Joost van der Laan
https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/stress-influence/<p>Stress-Influence Tendency is one of Charlie Munger’s psychological tendencies: stress doesn’t just make thinking harder, it intensifies whatever other misjudgment tendencies are already at work.</p>
<h2 id="the-idea">The idea</h2>
<p>Munger observed that light stress can sharpen performance, but heavy stress tends to make people more susceptible to doubt-avoidance, over-optimism, and other biases, pushing them toward faster, less deliberate decisions. In extreme or prolonged form, stress can produce sudden, drastic changes in belief or behavior — Munger pointed to Pavlov’s findings that extreme stress could reverse a dog’s conditioned responses almost instantly as an illustration of how far a stressed mind can swing from its normal patterns.</p>
<h2 id="when-to-use-it">When to use it</h2>
<ul>
<li>Reviewing a decision made under deadline pressure, crisis, or personal duress.</li>
<li>Noticing that a group is under collective stress (a crisis, a big deadline) and may be more susceptible to confident-sounding but poor advice.</li>
<li>Designing high-stakes processes (medical, financial, safety) where decisions routinely happen under stress.</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="how-to-apply-it">How to apply it</h2>
<ol>
<li>When stress is high, treat any fast conclusion as provisional rather than final.</li>
<li>Separate decisions that must be made now from those that can wait until stress subsides.</li>
<li>Build in checks — a second opinion, a cooling-off period — for decisions made under acute stress.</li>
</ol>
<h2 id="watch-out-for">Watch out for</h2>
<p>Stress rarely acts alone: it tends to amplify doubt-avoidance, over-optimism, and authority-influence at the same time, which is part of why extreme stress can produce outsized, hard-to-predict swings in judgment and behavior.</p>
<h2 id="related-models">Related models</h2>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/doubt-avoidance/">Doubt Avoidance</a> — a tendency that stress commonly intensifies.</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/over-optimism/">Over Optimism</a> — another tendency that stress can push further.</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/lollapalooza/">Lollapalooza</a> — the outsized effect that appears when several intensified tendencies combine.</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="sources">Sources</h2>
<p>Charlie Munger, “The Psychology of Human Misjudgment” (speech), reprinted in <em>Poor Charlie’s Almanack</em>.</p>
Contrast Misreaction2020-01-22T23:49:02+01:002020-01-22T23:49:02+01:00
Joost van der Laan
https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/contrast-misreaction/<p>Contrast misreaction is the tendency to judge something relative to a recent or nearby reference point rather than on its own absolute terms, distorting perception of its true value or size.</p>
<h2 id="the-idea">The idea</h2>
<p>The mind evaluates most things by comparison rather than by measuring them in isolation. A price looks cheap or expensive depending on what was shown right before it; a change looks large or small depending on the starting point. Because this happens automatically, people can be steered toward misjudging a situation simply by controlling what it’s contrasted against — a technique used deliberately in sales (showing an expensive item first) and in negotiation (opening with an extreme anchor).</p>
<h2 id="when-to-use-it">When to use it</h2>
<ul>
<li>Reviewing a decision influenced by a “before” reference point, such as a previous price, a first offer, or a prior version</li>
<li>Designing or evaluating pricing and comparisons that might be exploiting contrast rather than informing</li>
<li>Negotiating, where the first number anchors everything that follows</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="how-to-apply-it">How to apply it</h2>
<ol>
<li>Notice what reference point is being used, explicit or implicit, before judging something as good, bad, big, or small</li>
<li>Ask what it would look like against a neutral or absolute baseline instead</li>
<li>In negotiations or pricing, be deliberate about what gets shown first, since it sets the contrast for everything after</li>
</ol>
<h2 id="watch-out-for">Watch out for</h2>
<ul>
<li>Contrast effects are subtle and hard to notice in the moment, even when you know about the bias</li>
<li>Sequential comparisons compound contrast errors more than a single side-by-side comparison</li>
<li>Marketers and negotiators use contrast deliberately, so awareness matters most when someone else controls the reference point</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="related-models">Related models</h2>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/cognitive-biases/">Cognitive biases</a> — contrast misreaction is one of Charlie Munger’s catalogued psychological tendencies</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/deprival-superreaction/">Deprival-superreaction</a> — a related tendency where losses are felt more strongly relative to a reference point than equivalent gains</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/availability-misweighing/">Availability-misweighing</a> — another judgment bias driven by what’s most recently or readily accessible</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="sources">Sources</h2>
<p>Charlie Munger, “The Psychology of Human Misjudgment” (1995), which names contrast misreaction as one of the standard causes of human misjudgment.</p>
Social Proof2020-01-22T23:48:48+01:002020-01-22T23:48:48+01:00
Joost van der Laan
https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/social-proof/<p>Social proof is the tendency to treat what other people are doing as evidence for the right thing to do, especially under uncertainty.</p>
<!-- Author's source notes also included a separate idea about "pre-suasion" priming
(e.g. putting a picture of a runner, a thinker, or grandchildren on your desk before
a decision to prime a related goal). That is Cialdini's priming technique from
Pre-Suasion, not social proof itself, so it belongs on a priming/pre-suasion page
rather than here. Left out of the visible body for that reason. -->
<h2 id="the-idea">The idea</h2>
<p>When people aren’t sure how to act, they look to others for cues — what Shane Parrish’s Farnam Street guide calls “safety in numbers,” a social instinct that builds cooperation but also spreads foolish behavior once a group acts on it together. Charlie Munger included social proof among the tendencies that drive human misjudgment, and Robert Cialdini treats it as one of his six principles of influence, alongside reciprocity, commitment, authority, liking, and scarcity. The pull is strongest under uncertainty and when the people being observed are similar to the observer.</p>
<h2 id="when-to-use-it">When to use it</h2>
<ul>
<li>Recognizing why a crowd, review count, or “most popular” label shifts behavior independent of actual merit</li>
<li>Understanding herd behavior in markets, panics, or fads</li>
<li>Using it deliberately and honestly — showing genuine adoption or testimonials — when building trust in a product or idea</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="how-to-apply-it">How to apply it</h2>
<ul>
<li>Notice when your own judgment is leaning on “everyone else is doing it” rather than direct evidence.</li>
<li>In ambiguous situations, deliberately seek an independent view rather than only observing the crowd.</li>
<li>When designing for others, be aware that visible cues about what others are doing will shift behavior, for better or worse.</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="watch-out-for">Watch out for</h2>
<ul>
<li>Social proof is strongest exactly when people are least equipped to evaluate something independently, which makes it easy to manufacture and exploit.</li>
<li>Large groups can be uniformly wrong; a crowd’s size is not evidence of correctness.</li>
<li>It compounds with authority and association effects, making a false claim feel true once enough people appear to repeat it.</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="related-models">Related models</h2>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/influence-from-mere-association/">Influence From Mere Association</a> — a related Munger tendency where judgment shifts based on an association rather than merit.</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/authority-misinfluence/">Authority Misinfluence</a> — a related tendency to defer to authority rather than the crowd.</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/reciprocation/">Reciprocation</a> — another tendency from the same psychology-of-misjudgment framework.</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="sources">Sources</h2>
<p>Charlie Munger, “The Psychology of Human Misjudgment” (speech, 1995); Robert Cialdini, <em>Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion</em>; Shane Parrish, Farnam Street mental models guide.</p>
Deprival Superreaction2020-01-22T23:48:28+01:002020-01-22T23:48:28+01:00
Joost van der Laan
https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/deprival-superreaction/<p>Deprival-superreaction is the tendency to react far more strongly to losing something, or being at risk of losing it, than to gaining the equivalent thing.</p>
<h2 id="the-idea">The idea</h2>
<p>Charlie Munger named this tendency in his “Psychology of Human Misjudgment,” and it closely parallels what behavioral economists call loss aversion: the pain of losing tends to be felt more sharply than the pleasure of an equivalent gain. The reaction is disproportionate to the actual stakes, which is what makes it a “superreaction” rather than an ordinary preference for avoiding loss.</p>
<p>The effect shows up strongly when something once possessed, or nearly possessed, is taken away — a near-miss, a shrinking discount, a partial loss — which can trigger outsized frustration, irrational persistence, or panic selling.</p>
<h2 id="when-to-use-it">When to use it</h2>
<ul>
<li>Reviewing decisions made under the threat of losing money, status, or an opportunity</li>
<li>Understanding why people hold onto losing investments, jobs, or relationships longer than is rational</li>
<li>Recognizing manipulative tactics that create an artificial sense of scarcity or imminent loss</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="how-to-apply-it">How to apply it</h2>
<ol>
<li>When a decision is driven by avoiding a loss, restate it in terms of the gain being forgone instead — see if the choice still looks the same.</li>
<li>Notice artificial urgency (“last chance,” “about to run out”) and treat it as a signal to slow down, not speed up.</li>
<li>Before reacting to a threatened loss, ask what you would do if you were encountering the same option fresh, with nothing yet at stake.</li>
</ol>
<h2 id="watch-out-for">Watch out for</h2>
<ul>
<li>It combines with other tendencies (such as envy or inconsistency-avoidance) to produce especially strong overreactions</li>
<li>Marketers and negotiators exploit it deliberately with “limited time” or “about to sell out” framing</li>
<li>Awareness of the tendency does not eliminate the emotional pull it exerts in the moment</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="related-models">Related models</h2>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/cognitive-biases/">Cognitive Biases</a> — deprival-superreaction is one of Munger’s catalogued tendencies of misjudgment.</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/envy-jealousy/">Envy Jealousy</a> — another Munger tendency that often compounds with deprival-superreaction.</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="sources">Sources</h2>
<p>Charlie Munger, “The Psychology of Human Misjudgment” (speech, 1995, later published in <em>Poor Charlie’s Almanack</em>).</p>
Over Optimism2020-01-22T23:48:08+01:002020-01-22T23:48:08+01:00
Joost van der Laan
https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/over-optimism/<p>Overoptimism Tendency is Charlie Munger’s term for the mind’s default bias toward overly favorable estimates of outcomes, odds, and one’s own prospects.</p>
<h2 id="the-idea">The idea</h2>
<p>Overoptimism Tendency describes the mind’s pull toward the more favorable estimate, even when the evidence does not clearly support it. It shows up in underestimating costs and timelines, overestimating the odds of success, and discounting risks that are inconvenient to take seriously. Unlike a deliberate hope or motivational stance, it distorts the underlying estimate itself, not just how someone feels about it.</p>
<h2 id="when-to-use-it">When to use it</h2>
<ul>
<li>Reviewing project estimates, forecasts, or plans for a consistent bias toward the favorable case</li>
<li>Evaluating your own confidence in a new venture, investment, or decision before committing</li>
<li>Interpreting why bad news tends to be discounted or explained away in groups and organizations</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="how-to-apply-it">How to apply it</h2>
<ol>
<li>Ask what a skeptical outsider, with nothing to gain, would estimate instead.</li>
<li>Deliberately build a base-rate or worst-case estimate alongside the optimistic one.</li>
<li>Treat a plan with no accounted-for downside as a sign the estimate needs revisiting, not as good news.</li>
</ol>
<h2 id="watch-out-for">Watch out for</h2>
<ul>
<li>It compounds with excessive self-regard, since people are especially optimistic about outcomes they control</li>
<li>Confident, optimistic plans are more persuasive to others, which rewards overoptimism in group settings</li>
<li>Correcting for it too far can tip into a paralyzing pessimism that is just as inaccurate</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="related-models">Related models</h2>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/excessive-self-regard/">Excessive Self Regard</a> — a related Munger tendency that often feeds overoptimism about one’s own plans.</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/doubt-avoidance/">Doubt Avoidance</a> — another tendency that can push toward the same premature, favorable conclusion.</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/cognitive-biases/">Cognitive Biases</a> — the broader category this tendency belongs to.</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="sources">Sources</h2>
<p>Charlie Munger, “The Psychology of Human Misjudgment” (speech, 1995, later published in <em>Poor Charlie’s Almanack</em>).</p>
Excessive Self Regard2020-01-22T23:47:56+01:002020-01-22T23:47:56+01:00
Joost van der Laan
https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/excessive-self-regard/<p>Excessive Self-Regard Tendency is Charlie Munger’s name for the common human bias of overvaluing one’s own abilities, judgments, possessions, and decisions.</p>
<h2 id="the-idea">The idea</h2>
<p>People tend to rate their own abilities and choices above an objective average — most drivers think they’re above-average drivers, and most people overrate their own contribution to a team’s success. The tendency also causes people to overvalue things merely because they own or chose them, and to take outsized credit for successes while attributing failures to bad luck.</p>
<h2 id="when-to-use-it">When to use it</h2>
<ul>
<li>Reviewing your own past decisions or forecasts for overconfidence before repeating a similar bet</li>
<li>Interpreting why people resist selling underperforming investments or abandoning projects they started</li>
<li>Understanding why unsolicited advice about someone’s own choices is often unwelcome</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="how-to-apply-it">How to apply it</h2>
<ol>
<li>Before committing to a judgment, ask what an outside, disinterested party would conclude.</li>
<li>Seek disconfirming evidence for decisions you are personally attached to.</li>
<li>Separate the value of an idea from the fact that it is yours.</li>
</ol>
<h2 id="watch-out-for">Watch out for</h2>
<ul>
<li>It compounds with confirmation bias: once self-regard inflates a belief, evidence gets filtered to support it</li>
<li>In hiring or promotion decisions it can favor people who resemble the decision-maker</li>
<li>It is hardest to spot in yourself, precisely because it distorts self-assessment</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="related-models">Related models</h2>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/envy-jealousy/">Envy/Jealousy</a> — a related Munger tendency about comparison to others.</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/over-optimism/">Over-Optimism</a> — self-regard often feeds excessive optimism about one’s own plans.</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="sources">Sources</h2>
<p>Charlie Munger, “The Psychology of Human Misjudgment” (speech, Harvard Law School, 1995; reprinted in <em>Poor Charlie’s Almanack</em>).</p>
Denial2020-01-22T23:47:38+01:002020-01-22T23:47:38+01:00
Joost van der Laan
https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/denial/<p>Denial is the tendency for the mind to reject or distort a painful reality it finds too unpleasant to accept, rather than process it accurately.</p>
<h2 id="the-idea">The idea</h2>
<p>Charlie Munger listed denial among the psychological tendencies that drive human misjudgment: when reality is too unbearable, people unconsciously reshape their perception of it to reduce psychological pain, rather than confront the facts directly. This is closely tied to pain-avoidance more broadly — the mind acts like a psychological immune system, filtering out information that would cause distress.</p>
<p>Denial can range from mild (downplaying a bad diagnosis or a failing business) to severe (refusing to acknowledge a loss, addiction, or grief). It often keeps someone functioning in the short term at the cost of avoiding a problem that needs action.</p>
<h2 id="when-to-use-it">When to use it</h2>
<ul>
<li>Recognizing why you or others may be avoiding an obviously bad situation instead of addressing it</li>
<li>Reviewing decisions where “everything is fine” has gone unquestioned for a long time</li>
<li>Understanding resistance to bad news in organizations, relationships, or personal health</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="how-to-apply-it">How to apply it</h2>
<ol>
<li>Look for a gap between what the facts show and what someone (including yourself) keeps repeating.</li>
<li>Ask what it would mean, practically, if the unwelcome version of events were true.</li>
<li>Introduce evidence gradually and without confrontation, giving room to update rather than defend.</li>
<li>Separate the emotional comfort of denial from the decision that actually needs to be made.</li>
</ol>
<h2 id="watch-out-for">Watch out for</h2>
<ul>
<li>Denial is hard to spot from the inside; it feels like an accurate read of reality, not a distortion</li>
<li>Confronting someone’s denial directly can trigger a defensive reaction rather than acceptance</li>
<li>Prolonged denial delays corrective action, which usually makes the underlying problem worse</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="related-models">Related models</h2>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/pain-avoiding/">Pain Avoiding</a> — the broader tendency to avoid psychological pain that denial serves.</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/cognitive-biases/">Cognitive Biases</a> — denial is one of the tendencies catalogued in Munger’s psychology of misjudgment.</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="sources">Sources</h2>
<p>Charlie Munger, “The Psychology of Human Misjudgment” (speech, 1995, later published in <em>Poor Charlie’s Almanack</em>).</p>
Pain Avoiding2020-01-22T23:47:30+01:002020-01-22T23:47:30+01:00
Joost van der Laan
https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/pain-avoiding/<p>Simple, Pain-Avoiding Psychological Denial is Charlie Munger’s term for the mind’s tendency to unconsciously distort or reject a painful reality rather than confront it directly.</p>
<h2 id="the-idea">The idea</h2>
<p>Munger described this as one of the most basic drivers of misjudgment: when reality is too unpleasant to bear, the mind reshapes its perception to reduce the pain, rather than processing the facts accurately. This is a broader tendency than denial alone — it also produces rationalization, minimizing, and selective attention to anything that would otherwise cause psychological distress. It functions like a psychological immune system, protecting comfort at the cost of accuracy.</p>
<h2 id="when-to-use-it">When to use it</h2>
<ul>
<li>Reviewing why an obviously bad situation has gone unaddressed for a long time</li>
<li>Recognizing resistance to bad news in yourself, a team, or an organization</li>
<li>Interpreting persistence in a failing plan, investment, or relationship as pain avoidance rather than genuine conviction</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="how-to-apply-it">How to apply it</h2>
<ol>
<li>When a bad situation has persisted unusually long, ask whether the delay reflects a genuine plan or an avoided reality.</li>
<li>Look for a neutral, less invested outsider’s read on the same facts and compare it to your own.</li>
<li>Build in a forcing function — a scheduled review, a named person tasked with dissent — so the uncomfortable facts get a hearing even when no one wants to raise them.</li>
</ol>
<h2 id="watch-out-for">Watch out for</h2>
<ul>
<li>It is hard to notice from the inside; the distortion feels like an accurate read of reality</li>
<li>Confronting it directly in others can trigger a stronger defensive reaction</li>
<li>Prolonged pain avoidance delays corrective action, usually making the underlying problem worse</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="related-models">Related models</h2>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/denial/">Denial</a> — the specific, most common form this tendency takes.</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/doubt-avoidance/">Doubt Avoidance</a> — a related tendency that resolves discomfort by rushing to a conclusion instead of distorting reality.</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/cognitive-biases/">Cognitive Biases</a> — the broader category this tendency belongs to.</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="sources">Sources</h2>
<p>Charlie Munger, “The Psychology of Human Misjudgment” (speech, 1995, later published in <em>Poor Charlie’s Almanack</em>).</p>
Influence From Mere Association2020-01-22T23:47:11+01:002020-01-22T23:47:11+01:00
Joost van der Laan
https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/influence-from-mere-association/<p>Influence-from-mere-association is the tendency to let a simple link between two things — in time, appearance, or company — shape a judgment that has no logical connection to that link.</p>
<h2 id="the-idea">The idea</h2>
<p>Charlie Munger described this tendency in his “Psychology of Human Misjudgment”: the mind reacts to association almost as strongly as it reacts to actual cause and effect. A product seems better because a likeable celebrity endorses it. A messenger gets blamed for delivering bad news, even though they didn’t cause it. A stock feels safer because it’s associated with a trusted brand or a popular narrative. None of these associations are evidence, yet they move judgment as if they were.</p>
<h2 id="when-to-use-it">When to use it</h2>
<ul>
<li>Evaluating advertising, endorsements, or branding that leans on association rather than substance</li>
<li>Noticing when you like or distrust an idea because of who else holds it, not its actual merits</li>
<li>Reviewing decisions where a coincidental link with a past success or failure may be driving the choice</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="how-to-apply-it">How to apply it</h2>
<ol>
<li>Ask what the association actually proves, separate from any real causal mechanism</li>
<li>Trace whether your favorable (or unfavorable) reaction would survive if the association were removed</li>
<li>Where the stakes are real, seek evidence about the thing itself rather than what it’s next to</li>
</ol>
<h2 id="watch-out-for">Watch out for</h2>
<ul>
<li>It combines readily with social proof and authority-misinfluence to produce persuasion that has no logical basis</li>
<li>Shooting the messenger is a classic case: punishing the bearer of bad news for the association alone</li>
<li>Marketers and salespeople deliberately manufacture positive associations because the tendency is so reliable</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="related-models">Related models</h2>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/cognitive-biases/">Cognitive Biases</a> — influence-from-mere-association is one of Munger’s catalogued tendencies of misjudgment.</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/social-proof/">Social Proof</a> — a related tendency where the association is with what other people are doing.</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/authority-misinfluence/">Authority Misinfluence</a> — a related tendency where the association is with a person’s perceived authority.</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="sources">Sources</h2>
<p>Charlie Munger, “The Psychology of Human Misjudgment” (speech, 1995, later published in <em>Poor Charlie’s Almanack</em>).</p>
Reciprocation2020-01-22T23:46:38+01:002020-01-22T23:46:38+01:00
Joost van der Laan
https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/reciprocation/<p>Reciprocation Tendency is the deep-seated pull to return favors, gifts, and concessions in kind, even when the original gesture was small, unsolicited, or from someone otherwise disliked.</p>
<h2 id="the-idea">The idea</h2>
<p>Charlie Munger listed reciprocation among the psychological tendencies that drive human misjudgment, and Robert Cialdini treats it as one of the most powerful levers of influence: once someone has given us something, an unspoken pressure builds to give something back, and that pressure operates even when we did not ask for the initial favor. The same pattern shows up in reciprocal concessions — someone asking for a large favor first, then retreating to a smaller one, which the other party feels obliged to accept in return for the “concession.”</p>
<h2 id="when-to-use-it">When to use it</h2>
<ul>
<li>Recognizing when a small, unsolicited gift or favor is being used to create an obligation</li>
<li>Building trust deliberately by giving first, without demanding an immediate return</li>
<li>Noticing a negotiation where an inflated opening request is designed to make a later ask look like a concession</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="how-to-apply-it">How to apply it</h2>
<ol>
<li>Give value first when you want to build a relationship, and let reciprocity work in your favor over time.</li>
<li>When someone gives you something unprompted, separate the gratitude you feel from the decision of whether to reciprocate.</li>
<li>In negotiations, watch for the “reject then retreat” pattern designed to trigger an obligated concession.</li>
</ol>
<h2 id="watch-out-for">Watch out for</h2>
<p>The tendency does not require the original favor to be proportional, wanted, or even sincere — a trivial or self-serving gesture can still trigger a much larger obligation to reciprocate, which is exactly what makes it exploitable.</p>
<h2 id="related-models">Related models</h2>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/giving/">Giving</a> — the practice of using reciprocation deliberately and generously, rather than as a tactic.</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/reason-respecting/">Reason Respecting</a> — another Munger tendency that, like reciprocation, is easily triggered by a small, low-cost gesture.</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="sources">Sources</h2>
<p>Charlie Munger, “The Psychology of Human Misjudgment” (speech, 1995); Robert Cialdini, <em>Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion</em>.</p>
Envy Jealousy2020-01-22T23:46:27+01:002020-01-22T23:46:27+01:00
Joost van der Laan
https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/envy-jealousy/<p>Envy/Jealousy Tendency is Charlie Munger’s term for the deep-seated psychological drive to resent others’ success or possessions, often distorting judgment and decisions.</p>
<h2 id="the-idea">The idea</h2>
<p>Munger listed Envy/Jealousy as one of the strongest and most senseless human misjudgment tendencies, rooted in evolutionary competition for scarce resources. It shows up as resentment toward a peer’s wealth, status, or recognition, even when that success costs the envious person nothing directly. Because it is uncomfortable to admit, envy is often disguised as other complaints (about fairness, ethics, or merit).</p>
<h2 id="when-to-use-it">When to use it</h2>
<ul>
<li>Recognizing why you (or others) resist a colleague’s promotion or a competitor’s success despite no direct harm</li>
<li>Diagnosing office politics, sibling rivalry, or public discourse driven by resentment rather than substance</li>
<li>Reviewing your own reactions before making a decision that might be envy-driven rather than reasoned</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="how-to-apply-it">How to apply it</h2>
<ol>
<li>Notice a strong negative reaction to someone else’s gain.</li>
<li>Ask whether the reaction is about the situation’s merits or about comparison to your own position.</li>
<li>Separate the emotion from the decision — judge the situation on its own terms.</li>
</ol>
<h2 id="watch-out-for">Watch out for</h2>
<ul>
<li>Envy dressed up as a principled objection (“it’s not fair”) when the real driver is comparison</li>
<li>Organizations that reward status symbols amplify envy-driven conflict</li>
<li>Suppressing envy without acknowledging it tends to make it leak out elsewhere</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="related-models">Related models</h2>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/excessive-self-regard/">Excessive Self-Regard</a> — the flip side: overvaluing one’s own traits and possessions.</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/reciprocation/">Reciprocation</a> — another Munger tendency shaping social behavior.</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/social-proof/">Social Proof</a> — comparison to others also drives social-proof effects.</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="sources">Sources</h2>
<p>Charlie Munger, “The Psychology of Human Misjudgment” (speech, Harvard Law School, 1995; reprinted in <em>Poor Charlie’s Almanack</em>).</p>
Kantian Fairness2020-01-22T23:46:03+01:002020-01-22T23:46:03+01:00
Joost van der Laan
https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/kantian-fairness/<p>Kantian Fairness is one of Charlie Munger’s 25 psychological tendencies: people carry an internalized, near-categorical sense of fairness and react strongly, often irrationally, when it is violated.</p>
<h2 id="the-idea">The idea</h2>
<p>Named after Kant’s categorical imperative (act only by rules you would want universally applied), the tendency describes how people expect others and institutions to follow reciprocal, fair rules, even without an enforceable contract. Violations of perceived fairness trigger reactions disproportionate to the actual material harm involved.</p>
<h2 id="when-to-use-it">When to use it</h2>
<ul>
<li>Explaining why “unfair” decisions provoke outsized backlash even when the material loss is small</li>
<li>Designing processes (queues, resource allocation, layoffs) where perceived fairness matters as much as the outcome</li>
<li>Negotiating, where both sides anchor on their own definition of “fair”</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="how-to-apply-it">How to apply it</h2>
<ol>
<li>Before rolling out a decision that affects people unevenly, ask how it will read on fairness grounds, not just efficiency</li>
<li>Expect resistance proportional to perceived unfairness, not to objective stakes</li>
<li>Where possible, keep the rule and its application visibly consistent for everyone</li>
</ol>
<h2 id="watch-out-for">Watch out for</h2>
<ul>
<li>Everyone’s definition of “fair” is self-serving; assuming a shared standard invites conflict</li>
<li>Overcorrecting for fairness perceptions can produce rigid, one-size-fits-all rules</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="related-models">Related models</h2>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/liking-loving/">Liking/Loving</a> — another of Munger’s tendencies that distorts judgment</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/lollapalooza/">Lollapalooza</a> — what happens when fairness reactions combine with other tendencies</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/cognitive-biases/">Cognitive Biases</a> — the broader category this tendency belongs to</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="sources">Sources</h2>
<p>Charlie Munger, “The Psychology of Human Misjudgment” (1995 speech), collected in “Poor Charlie’s Almanack”.</p>
Curiosity2020-01-22T23:45:44+01:002020-01-22T23:45:44+01:00
Joost van der Laan
https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/curiosity/<p>Curiosity is the drive to explore, question, and understand things that are unfamiliar — the motivational engine behind learning and discovery.</p>
<h2 id="the-idea">The idea</h2>
<p>Curiosity pulls attention toward gaps between what you know and what you don’t, and that discomfort with not-knowing is what drives exploration. It compounds: the more you learn, the more connections and open questions you notice, which sustains further learning. Unlike motivation driven by external reward, curiosity is intrinsic, which tends to make the resulting learning deeper and more durable.</p>
<h2 id="when-to-use-it">When to use it</h2>
<ul>
<li>Approaching an unfamiliar field or problem where you lack a mental model yet</li>
<li>Sustaining long-term learning without relying on external pressure</li>
<li>Generating better questions before committing to an answer</li>
<li>Noticing anomalies or details that a purely goal-driven approach would skip past</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="how-to-apply-it">How to apply it</h2>
<ol>
<li>Actively notice what you don’t understand instead of glossing over it.</li>
<li>Ask “why” and “what if” questions before looking for the “right” answer.</li>
<li>Follow tangents deliberately — set aside time to explore, not just execute.</li>
<li>Treat being wrong or surprised as useful information, not a failure.</li>
</ol>
<h2 id="watch-out-for">Watch out for</h2>
<ul>
<li>Curiosity without follow-through produces scattered, shallow knowledge</li>
<li>It can be a form of procrastination if it substitutes for finishing necessary work</li>
<li>Not all curiosity is equally valuable — some direction helps focus it productively</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="related-models">Related models</h2>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/creativity-imagination/">Creativity Imagination</a> — curiosity supplies the raw material that creative recombination works with.</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/learning-how-to-learn/">Learning How to Learn</a> — curiosity is the motivational driver behind effective learning strategies.</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/metacognition/">Metacognition</a> — noticing what you don’t know is what turns curiosity into a directed question.</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="sources">Sources</h2>
<p>George Loewenstein’s “information gap” theory of curiosity (<em>The Psychology of Curiosity: A Review and Reinterpretation</em>, 1994) describes curiosity as arising from a felt gap between what you know and what you want to know.</p>
Inconsistency Avoidance2020-01-22T23:45:28+01:002020-01-22T23:45:28+01:00
Joost van der Laan
https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/inconsistency-avoidance/<!-- Also known as commitment and consistency bias; Cialdini's principle and Munger's tendency are the same underlying phenomenon viewed from persuasion vs. misjudgment angles. -->
<p>Inconsistency-avoidance is the mind’s resistance to changing an existing belief, habit, or commitment, even when new evidence argues against it.</p>
<h2 id="the-idea">The idea</h2>
<p>Charlie Munger named this tendency in his “Psychology of Human Misjudgment”: once a person forms a conclusion or makes a commitment, the brain prefers to keep behaving consistently with it rather than revisit the reasoning. Munger draws this directly from Robert Cialdini’s commitment-and-consistency principle of persuasion — once someone states a position, they feel real pressure to stay consistent with it, even against their own interest. Confirmation bias reinforces it, since we rarely seek out evidence that would undercut what we already believe. Society compounds the effect, prizing consistency as strength and treating a change of mind as weakness.</p>
<h2 id="when-to-use-it">When to use it</h2>
<ul>
<li>Reviewing a long-held belief, strategy, or relationship you haven’t questioned in a while</li>
<li>Noticing you’re defending a past decision more than evaluating it on today’s merits</li>
<li>Understanding why people and organizations keep funding failing plans once committed</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="how-to-apply-it">How to apply it</h2>
<ol>
<li>Before stating a public position, pause — once it’s said, consistency pressure makes it harder to walk back.</li>
<li>When defending a past choice, ask whether you’re evaluating it fresh or just protecting consistency.</li>
<li>Watch for a small agreed-to request used as a stepping stone toward a larger one you wouldn’t have accepted outright.</li>
</ol>
<h2 id="watch-out-for">Watch out for</h2>
<ul>
<li>It compounds with sunk-cost thinking: the more invested you are, the harder it is to change course</li>
<li>It can masquerade as “having principles” when it’s really just avoiding the discomfort of reconsidering</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="related-models">Related models</h2>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/cognitive-biases/">Cognitive Biases</a> — inconsistency-avoidance is one of Munger’s catalogued tendencies of misjudgment.</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/doubt-avoidance/">Doubt Avoidance</a> — the related tendency to resolve uncertainty quickly by reaching a conclusion, which inconsistency-avoidance then locks in.</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/denial/">Denial</a> — another way the mind protects an existing belief from unwelcome evidence.</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="sources">Sources</h2>
<p>Charlie Munger, “The Psychology of Human Misjudgment” (speech, 1995, later published in <em>Poor Charlie’s Almanack</em>); Robert Cialdini, <em>Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion</em>.</p>
Doubt Avoidance2020-01-22T23:45:13+01:002020-01-22T23:45:13+01:00
Joost van der Laan
https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/doubt-avoidance/<p>Doubt-Avoidance Tendency is one of Charlie Munger’s psychological tendencies: the human brain is uncomfortable with unresolved doubt and tends to remove it fast by jumping to a conclusion.</p>
<h2 id="the-idea">The idea</h2>
<p>Munger argued this tendency likely has evolutionary roots — a hesitant animal facing a threat needed to decide and act, not deliberate indefinitely. The effect is strongest when a decision is puzzling and stressful, which is exactly when careful, doubt-tolerant thinking matters most. Under those conditions people are prone to seize on the first plausible answer, often the one offered most confidently by an authority figure, rather than continuing to sit with uncertainty.</p>
<h2 id="when-to-use-it">When to use it</h2>
<ul>
<li>Facing a stressful or high-stakes decision where you notice an urge to “just decide” and move on.</li>
<li>Being pitched a confident answer by a salesperson, leader, or expert during a moment of anxiety.</li>
<li>Group settings (juries, boards, committees) under time pressure to reach consensus.</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="how-to-apply-it">How to apply it</h2>
<ol>
<li>When a decision feels urgent and uncomfortable, treat that discomfort itself as a signal to slow down.</li>
<li>Separate “I want this doubt to end” from “I have enough information to decide.”</li>
<li>Deliberately hold two competing conclusions in mind before committing to one.</li>
</ol>
<h2 id="watch-out-for">Watch out for</h2>
<p>Doubt-avoidance combines dangerously with authority bias: a confident-sounding expert can resolve someone’s discomfort even when the expert is wrong. It also interacts with deadlines, which manufacture the stress that triggers the tendency.</p>
<h2 id="related-models">Related models</h2>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/inconsistency-avoidance/">Inconsistency Avoidance</a> — a related tendency that keeps us from revisiting a decision once made.</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/over-optimism/">Over Optimism</a> — another Munger tendency that can bias the conclusion doubt-avoidance rushes toward.</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/cognitive-biases/">Cognitive Biases</a> — the broader category this tendency belongs to.</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="sources">Sources</h2>
<p>Charlie Munger, “The Psychology of Human Misjudgment” (speech), reprinted in <em>Poor Charlie’s Almanack</em>.</p>
Disliking Hating2020-01-22T23:44:54+01:002020-01-22T23:44:54+01:00
Joost van der Laan
https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/disliking-hating/<p>Disliking/Hating Tendency is one of Charlie Munger’s psychological tendencies: strong dislike for a person, group, or idea warps how fairly we can judge it and anything linked to it.</p>
<h2 id="the-idea">The idea</h2>
<p>Once we dislike someone, the mind tends to discount their virtues, distort the facts to support the dislike, and lump in anything associated with them — their ideas, their friends, even unrelated positions they hold — as also bad. It is the mirror image of Liking/Loving Tendency, and the two often combine: we favor our in-group and its ideas more, and disfavor the out-group and its ideas more, than the evidence warrants.</p>
<h2 id="when-to-use-it">When to use it</h2>
<ul>
<li>Noticing you’re rejecting an argument mainly because you dislike who is making it.</li>
<li>Reviewing decisions (hiring, partnerships, deal terms) where personal friction with a counterpart may be driving the outcome.</li>
<li>Catching yourself extending dislike of one trait or action to someone’s entire character or output.</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="how-to-apply-it">How to apply it</h2>
<ol>
<li>Separate the person from the claim: restate their argument in its strongest form before judging it.</li>
<li>Ask what you would think of the same idea coming from someone you like.</li>
<li>Notice guilt-by-association reasoning (“X likes it, and I dislike X, so it must be bad”) and check it explicitly.</li>
</ol>
<h2 id="watch-out-for">Watch out for</h2>
<p>The bias is hard to feel from the inside — it presents as confident, well-reasoned dislike rather than as a bias. It also compounds with confirmation bias, since once triggered it recruits selective evidence.</p>
<h2 id="related-models">Related models</h2>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/liking-loving/">Liking Loving</a> — the mirror-image tendency that inflates our view of people and ideas we like.</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/envy-jealousy/">Envy Jealousy</a> — another Munger tendency that distorts judgment through emotion toward others.</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/cognitive-biases/">Cognitive Biases</a> — the broader category this tendency belongs to.</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="sources">Sources</h2>
<p>Charlie Munger, “The Psychology of Human Misjudgment” (speech), reprinted in <em>Poor Charlie’s Almanack</em>.</p>
Liking Loving2020-01-22T23:44:41+01:002020-01-22T23:44:41+01:00
Joost van der Laan
https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/liking-loving/<p>Liking/Loving Tendency is one of Charlie Munger’s 25 psychological tendencies: once we like or love a person, brand, or idea, we become blind to its faults and eager to agree with it.</p>
<h2 id="the-idea">The idea</h2>
<p>Munger argued that we are wired to favor people we like and love to the point of irrationality; in social psychology, the group-level version of this is known as in-group bias. To keep liking and loving them, we tend to:</p>
<ul>
<li>Distort facts to fit that affection</li>
<li>Ignore faults we would otherwise notice</li>
<li>Comply with the wishes of whoever or whatever we like or love</li>
<li>Favor people, products, and actions merely associated with the object of our affection</li>
</ul>
<p>We also go to some lengths to keep being liked and loved by others, even people we don’t personally know.</p>
<h2 id="when-to-use-it">When to use it</h2>
<p>Not something to “apply” so much as a bias to recognize, especially when:</p>
<ul>
<li>Evaluating advice from someone you admire</li>
<li>Assessing a company or brand you are loyal to</li>
<li>Reviewing work produced by a friend or mentor</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="how-to-apply-it">How to apply it</h2>
<ol>
<li>Notice when your assessment of a fact tracks how much you like the source, rather than the evidence itself</li>
<li>Separate “do I like this person” from “is this argument correct”</li>
<li>Seek a disinterested second opinion when the stakes are high and the source is someone you like</li>
</ol>
<h2 id="watch-out-for">Watch out for</h2>
<ul>
<li>The mirror-image tendency, disliking or hating, distorts judgment the opposite way and is just as easy to miss in yourself</li>
<li>Combined with authority or social proof, it can compound into an outsized, hard-to-reverse commitment</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="related-models">Related models</h2>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/disliking-hating/">Disliking/Hating</a> — the opposite-direction tendency</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/lollapalooza/">Lollapalooza</a> — what happens when this tendency stacks with others</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/cognitive-biases/">Cognitive Biases</a> — the broader category</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="sources">Sources</h2>
<p>Charlie Munger, “The Psychology of Human Misjudgment” (1995 speech), collected in “Poor Charlie’s Almanack”; Michael Simmons and Ian Chew’s writing summarizing Munger’s psychological tendencies.</p>
Reward Punishment2020-01-22T23:44:22+01:002020-01-22T23:44:22+01:00
Joost van der Laan
https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/reward-punishment/<p>The reward and punishment superresponse tendency is Charlie Munger’s observation that incentives shape behavior far more powerfully, and far more unconsciously, than most people expect.</p>
<h2 id="the-idea">The idea</h2>
<p>People and organizations respond disproportionately to what is actually rewarded or punished, often overriding stated intentions, rules, or their own values when incentives point elsewhere. This isn’t limited to obvious cases like sales commissions; it also shows up in how policies, KPIs, and informal social rewards quietly redirect effort toward whatever gets measured or praised, even when that diverges from the intended goal.</p>
<h2 id="when-to-use-it">When to use it</h2>
<ul>
<li>Designing compensation, KPIs, or incentive structures</li>
<li>Diagnosing why a person, team, or organization behaves in a way its stated goals don’t explain</li>
<li>Predicting how people will actually respond to a new policy, rather than how they’re supposed to respond</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="how-to-apply-it">How to apply it</h2>
<ol>
<li>Before trusting an explanation for behavior, ask what is actually being rewarded or punished.</li>
<li>Check stated goals against the real incentives in place, and look for mismatches.</li>
<li>When designing a system, assume people will optimize for the literal incentive, not the spirit behind it.</li>
</ol>
<h2 id="watch-out-for">Watch out for</h2>
<ul>
<li>Underestimating your own susceptibility — the tendency operates unconsciously, not just in others.</li>
<li>Incentive design that produces a technically-rewarded outcome nobody actually wants (gaming the metric).</li>
<li>The tendency combining with other biases, which makes misaligned incentives harder to recognize.</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="related-models">Related models</h2>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/cognitive-biases/">Cognitive Biases</a> — this tendency is one of Munger’s catalogued biases in judgment.</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/lollapalooza/">Lollapalooza</a> — incentives often combine with other tendencies to produce outsized effects.</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/deprival-superreaction/">Deprival Superreaction</a> — a related tendency about reacting to loss or threatened loss.</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="sources">Sources</h2>
<p>Charlie Munger, “The Psychology of Human Misjudgment” (speech, 1995, later published in <em>Poor Charlie’s Almanack</em>).</p>
Liking2020-01-22T23:43:35+01:002020-01-22T23:43:35+01:00
Joost van der Laan
https://joostvanderlaan.nl/behaviour-change/persuasion/liking/<h1 id="liking-loving-tendency">Liking Loving Tendency</h1>
<p>{/* <!– Munger argues that we are wired to naturally favor people we like and love to the point of
irrationality. In social psychology, this tendency is known as in- group bias.</p>
<p>In order to keep liking and loving them, we do the following behaviors that we may not have done
otherwise: Distort facts Ignore faults Comply with wishes Favor people, products, and actions merely
associated with the object of affection. We even go to great lengths in order to keep being liked
and loved by others; even people we don’t know. Michael Simmons & Ian Chew –> */}</p>
Authority2020-01-22T23:43:28+01:002020-01-22T23:43:28+01:00
Joost van der Laan
https://joostvanderlaan.nl/behaviour-change/persuasion/authority/<p>Availability- Misweighing Tendency</p>
<p>{/*
We tend to overemphasize information that is the most available and vivid from our surroundings and
our mind. In the academic world, this is known as the Availability Bias. Unfortunately, The easiness
doesn’t mean that the information is the most useful one.</p>
<p>This can work to people’s benefit in the world of persuasion and memory. By painting a vivid picture
of something, we can more effectively influence others and keep ideas in our own memories.</p>
<p>When in group environments, simple explanations of complex phenomena can rapidly gain currency and
spread even if they’re wrong. This is known as the availability cascade. Michael Simmons & Ian Chew
Authority- Misinfluence Tendency</p>
<p>We trust and respect leaders too much, even when they make mistakes.</p>
<p>We also trust leaders in areas where they are not experts. This is known as the Halo Effect. Michael
Simmons & Ian Chew</p>
<p>Twaddle Tendency</p>
<p>People tend to talk a lot about things they’re not an expert in. Be very careful of these people.</p>
<p>Instead, try to surround yourself with people who show restraint in sharing their opinions until
they’re more proven or thought through. Michael Simmons & Ian Chew</p>
<p><strong>Influence of Authority</strong></p>
<p>The equally famous Stanford Prison Experiment and Milgram Experiments demonstrated what humans had
learned practically many years before: the human bias towards being influenced by authority. In a
dominance hierarchy such as ours, we tend to look to the leader for guidance on behavior, especially
in situations of stress or uncertainty. Thus, authority figures have a responsibility to act well,
whether they like it or not. Shane Parrish’s Farnam Street Mental Model Guide</p>
<p>*/}</p>
Reciprocity2020-01-22T23:43:18+01:002020-01-22T23:43:18+01:00
Joost van der Laan
https://joostvanderlaan.nl/behaviour-change/persuasion/reciprocity/<h1 id="framing">Framing</h1>
<p>{/* <!– “With the same information being used as a base, the ‘frame’ surrounding the issue can change the
reader’s perception without having to alter the actual facts.” (related: anchoring) Gabriel
Weinberg’s Mental Models I Find Repeatedly Useful Cialdini’s Six Principles of Influence</p>
<p>Reciprocity (“People tend to return a favor.”), Commitment (“If people commit…they are more likely
to honor that commitment.”), Social Proof (“People will do things they see other people are
doing.”), Authority (“People will tend to obey authority figures.”), Liking (“People are easily
persuaded by other people they like.”), and Scarcity (“Perceived scarcity will generate demand”).
(related: foot-in-the-door technique) Gabriel Weinberg’s Mental Models I Find Repeatedly Useful –> */}</p>
Scarcity2020-01-22T23:43:07+01:002020-01-22T23:43:07+01:00
Joost van der Laan
https://joostvanderlaan.nl/behaviour-change/persuasion/scarcity/<p><strong>Scarcity</strong></p>
<p>Limited resources, situations of conflict and competition. All described in <strong>game theory</strong>.</p>
<p>Strategy, optimal decision-making of actors on a playing field. Indipendent & competing companies, for example.</p>
<p>{/* <!-- https://www.investopedia.com/terms/g/gametheory.asp --> */}</p>
<p>{/* <!-- > Game theory describes situations of conflict, limited resources, and competition. Given a certain
situation and a limited amount of resources and time, what decisions are competitors likely to make,
and which should they make? One important note is that traditional game theory may describe humans
as more rational than they really are. Game theory is theory, after all. – Shane Parrish's Farnam
Street Mental Model Guide --> */}</p>
Commitment Consistency2020-01-22T23:42:55+01:002020-01-22T23:42:55+01:00
Joost van der Laan
https://joostvanderlaan.nl/behaviour-change/persuasion/commitment-consistency/<p>Commitment and Consistency Bias</p>
<p>{/* “Even when it acts against our best interest our tendency is to be consistent with our prior
commitments, ideas, thoughts, words, and actions. As a byproduct of confirmation bias, we rarely
seek disconfirming evidence of what we believe. This, after all, makes it easier to maintain our
positive self-image.</p>
<p>Part of the reason this happens is our desire to appear and feel like we’re right. We also want to
show people our conviction. This shouldn’t come as a surprise. Society values consistency and
conviction even when it is wrong.</p>
<p>We associate consistency with intellectual and personal strength, rationality, honesty, and
stability. On the other hand, the person who is perceived as inconsistent is also seen as confused,
two-faced, even mentally ill in certain extreme circumstances.“ - Farnam Street [65] James Clear
Mental Models Overview */}</p>
Persuasion2020-01-22T23:42:10+01:002020-01-22T23:42:10+01:00
Joost van der Laan
https://joostvanderlaan.nl/behaviour-change/persuasion/<p>Subcategory of Behaviour change, Persuasion</p>
<p>Reciprocity (“People tend to return a favor.”), Commitment (“If people commit…they are more likely
to honor that commitment.”), Social Proof (“People will do things they see other people are
doing.”), Authority (“People will tend to obey authority figures.”), Liking (“People are easily
persuaded by other people they like.”), and Scarcity (“Perceived scarcity will generate demand”).
(related: foot-in-the-door technique) Gabriel Weinberg’s Mental Models I Find Repeatedly Useful</p>
Compound Interest2020-01-22T23:41:56+01:002020-01-22T23:41:56+01:00
Joost van der Laan
https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/compound-interest/<p>Compound interest is the process by which returns earn returns of their own, so a quantity grows at an accelerating rate over time rather than a constant one.</p>
<h2 id="the-idea">The idea</h2>
<p>With simple growth, a fixed amount is added each period. With compounding, each period’s growth is calculated on the new, larger total, so growth itself grows. Over short periods the difference from linear growth looks small; over long periods it becomes dramatic, since the base keeps expanding. The same shape shows up beyond finance: skills, relationships, reputation, and knowledge can all compound when each period’s gains build on the last.</p>
<h2 id="when-to-use-it">When to use it</h2>
<ul>
<li>Evaluating long-term investments, savings, or debt, where the time horizon matters as much as the rate</li>
<li>Deciding where to invest effort — skills, habits, relationships — that will keep paying off and building on itself</li>
<li>Recognizing when a small, consistent edge repeated over time will outperform a larger one-off effort</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="how-to-apply-it">How to apply it</h2>
<ol>
<li>Identify what is compounding: money, a skill, a habit, a network, or knowledge</li>
<li>Estimate the rate and time horizon — compounding needs both to matter</li>
<li>Protect the base: avoid actions that reset or shrink what has already accumulated</li>
<li>Let time do the work rather than accelerating the rate at the cost of the base</li>
</ol>
<h2 id="watch-out-for">Watch out for</h2>
<ul>
<li>Compounding cuts both ways: debt, bad habits, and reputational damage compound just as much as good outcomes</li>
<li>Interrupting the process — cashing out, breaking a streak, losing accumulated trust — disproportionately hurts long-horizon compounding</li>
<li>Short time horizons make compounding look unimpressive, leading people to underestimate its long-run effect</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="related-models">Related models</h2>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/1000x-knowledge/">1000x knowledge</a> — applies the same compounding logic to learning and expertise</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/the-one-thing/">The one thing</a> — focusing effort so gains accumulate in one place rather than dispersing</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/deliberate-practice/">Deliberate practice</a> — a way skill compounds through repeated, focused effort</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="sources">Sources</h2>
<p>Compound interest is a standard concept in finance; its application beyond money is widely associated with Warren Buffett’s and Charlie Munger’s writing and talks on long-term thinking.</p>
Behaviour Change2020-01-22T23:41:46+01:002020-01-22T23:41:46+01:00
Joost van der Laan
https://joostvanderlaan.nl/behaviour-change/<p>A lot of people can’t turn intentions into habits they consistently execute. Therefore knowing what
to do is only half the battle. Procrastination doesn’t help.</p>
Procrastination2020-01-22T23:39:01+01:002020-01-22T23:39:01+01:00
Joost van der Laan
https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/procrastination/<p>Procrastination is voluntarily putting off a task despite expecting that the delay will leave you worse off, choosing short-term comfort over a longer-term goal.</p>
<h2 id="the-idea">The idea</h2>
<p>Procrastination is less a time-management failure than an emotion-regulation one: a task feels boring, anxiety-inducing, or ambiguous, and delaying it removes that discomfort immediately, while the cost of delay lands later and feels abstract by comparison. This is why deadlines, willpower lectures, and better scheduling tools only partly help — the pull is toward relieving present discomfort, not toward planning badly.</p>
<h2 id="when-to-use-it">When to use it</h2>
<ul>
<li>Recognizing a pattern of avoiding a specific task, not just being generally disorganized</li>
<li>A project keeps slipping even though you know the deadline and the cost of missing it</li>
<li>Noticing you feel relief right after deciding to “do it later”</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="how-to-apply-it">How to apply it</h2>
<ol>
<li>Name the discomfort the task triggers (boring, unclear, high-stakes, unpleasant) instead of just labeling yourself lazy.</li>
<li>Shrink the next action to something small enough that starting costs almost nothing.</li>
<li>Reduce ambiguity — a vague task invites avoidance more than a well-defined one.</li>
<li>Make starting easier than not starting: remove friction, or commit to a fixed short block of time.</li>
</ol>
<h2 id="watch-out-for">Watch out for</h2>
<ul>
<li>Treating procrastination purely as a discipline problem, which ignores the emotional driver and rarely fixes it</li>
<li>Chronic procrastination on important-but-not-urgent work, which crowds out exactly the tasks that compound in value</li>
<li>Perfectionism, which often masquerades as procrastination by making “starting” feel unsafe until conditions are perfect</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="related-models">Related models</h2>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/first-things-first/">First Things First</a> — prioritizing important-but-not-urgent work before it gets crowded out by delay.</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/eisenhower-matrix/">Eisenhower Matrix</a> — a tool for spotting the important work most likely to get procrastinated on.</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/pain-avoiding/">Pain Avoiding</a> — a related tendency where discomfort gets avoided rather than confronted.</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="sources">Sources</h2>
<p>Piers Steel’s research on the psychology of procrastination, summarized in <em>The Procrastination Equation</em> (2010), frames delay as a self-regulation failure driven by task aversiveness and impulsiveness rather than poor time management.</p>
Energy2020-01-22T23:38:50+01:002020-01-22T23:38:50+01:00
Joost van der Laan
https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/energy/<p>Energy management treats personal energy — not time — as the scarcer resource: you can have hours free and still be too depleted to use them well.</p>
<h2 id="the-idea">The idea</h2>
<p>Time is fixed at 24 hours a day, but the quality of what you produce in any given hour depends on how much energy you bring to it. Energy is commonly split into physical (sleep, nutrition, exercise), emotional (mood, relationships), mental (focus, attention), and spiritual (sense of purpose) dimensions. Unlike time, energy is renewable — it can be expanded through deliberate recovery — but only if it’s also deliberately spent, alternating exertion with rest rather than running flat out or staying idle.</p>
<h2 id="when-to-use-it">When to use it</h2>
<ul>
<li>Scheduling demanding work for your natural high-energy periods instead of by the clock alone.</li>
<li>Feeling busy but unproductive, which often signals an energy problem rather than a time problem.</li>
<li>Building sustainable routines (sleep, exercise, breaks) instead of only optimizing calendars.</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="how-to-apply-it">How to apply it</h2>
<ol>
<li>Notice your natural energy rhythm across the day and week.</li>
<li>Protect your highest-energy blocks for your most demanding work.</li>
<li>Build in recovery — short breaks, sleep, movement — as deliberately as you build in work.</li>
<li>Treat chronic fatigue or burnout as a signal to change inputs, not just to push through with more willpower.</li>
</ol>
<h2 id="watch-out-for">Watch out for</h2>
<p>Energy management can become another form of over-optimization if every break and meal is scheduled for output rather than genuine recovery. It’s also highly individual — rhythms and recovery needs differ, so borrowed routines don’t always transfer.</p>
<h2 id="related-models">Related models</h2>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/the-one-thing/">The One Thing</a> — a complementary focus principle for where to direct your best energy.</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/deliberate-practice/">Deliberate Practice</a> — a related idea about how focused effort and recovery combine to build skill.</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="sources">Sources</h2>
<p>Popularized by Jim Loehr and Tony Schwartz, <em>The Power of Full Engagement</em> (2003).</p>
Beliefs2020-01-22T23:38:44+01:002020-01-22T23:38:44+01:00
Joost van der Laan
https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/beliefs/<p>Beliefs are the working models we carry about how the world works — and because we act on them as if they were true, they shape what we notice, remember, and do long before any single decision does.</p>
<h2 id="the-idea">The idea</h2>
<p>A belief is not just an opinion; it is a filter. Once formed, it steers attention toward confirming evidence and away from disconfirming evidence, so beliefs tend to be self-reinforcing even when they are wrong. This is why changing a deeply held belief usually takes more than presenting contrary facts — the belief also has to survive contact with the emotional and social reasons it was adopted in the first place.</p>
<h2 id="when-to-use-it">When to use it</h2>
<ul>
<li>Before committing to a big decision, ask which beliefs it rests on and whether they have actually been tested.</li>
<li>When a disagreement will not resolve, check whether the two sides hold different underlying beliefs rather than different facts.</li>
<li>When results keep disappointing, examine the belief driving the strategy, not just its execution.</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="how-to-apply-it">How to apply it</h2>
<ol>
<li>State the belief explicitly, as a falsifiable claim rather than a vague attitude.</li>
<li>Look for the strongest evidence against it, not just evidence for it.</li>
<li>Update the belief in proportion to the evidence, and note when and why it changed.</li>
</ol>
<h2 id="watch-out-for">Watch out for</h2>
<p>Beliefs held with high confidence and low scrutiny are the most dangerous kind, because they are the ones least likely to be questioned. Strong emotional or social investment in a belief (identity, group membership) makes it especially resistant to revision.</p>
<h2 id="related-models">Related models</h2>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/cognitive-biases/">Cognitive Biases</a> — many biases exist specifically to protect existing beliefs from revision.</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/doubt-avoidance/">Doubt Avoidance</a> — the discomfort of uncertainty that pushes people to settle on a belief quickly.</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/inconsistency-avoidance/">Inconsistency Avoidance</a> — the pressure to keep acting consistently with a belief once it is adopted.</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/falsifiability/">Falsifiability</a> — a test for whether a belief is even capable of being checked against reality.</li>
</ul>
Indentify Root Causes2020-01-22T23:38:28+01:002020-01-22T23:38:28+01:00
Joost van der Laan
https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/indentify-root-causes/<p>Identifying root causes means tracing a problem back to the underlying condition that produces it, instead of stopping at the most visible symptom.</p>
<h2 id="the-idea">The idea</h2>
<p>Most problems present themselves through symptoms — the thing that’s obviously wrong. Fixing the symptom can make the problem disappear temporarily, but if the underlying cause is untouched, it tends to resurface in the same or a different form. A root cause is the point in the chain of events where an intervention would actually prevent the problem, as opposed to a proximate cause, which is simply the last event before the outcome. Treating symptoms without finding that point is why the same failure keeps returning under a slightly different name.</p>
<h2 id="when-to-use-it">When to use it</h2>
<ul>
<li>A problem keeps recurring despite repeated fixes</li>
<li>Deciding where in a process to invest effort so the fix actually sticks</li>
<li>Debugging, incident reviews, and postmortems where a superficial fix would leave the real issue in place</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="how-to-apply-it">How to apply it</h2>
<ol>
<li>Describe the problem precisely, separating the symptom from your assumptions about its cause</li>
<li>Ask “why” repeatedly (the “5 Whys” technique), following each answer back one more step</li>
<li>Look for the point where a change would have prevented the problem, not just masked it</li>
<li>Test the hypothesis before committing to a fix — a plausible root cause is not a confirmed one</li>
</ol>
<h2 id="watch-out-for">Watch out for</h2>
<ul>
<li>Stopping too early and mistaking a proximate cause for the root cause</li>
<li>Complex problems often have multiple contributing causes, not a single root</li>
<li>Root-cause thinking can become an excuse for inaction if it’s used to defer any fix until “the real problem” is found</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="related-models">Related models</h2>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/root-cause-analysis/">Root Cause Analysis</a> — the structured process for applying this idea.</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/root-cause-vs-proximate-use/">Root Cause vs Proximate Use</a> — the distinction this model depends on.</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/problem-definition/">Problem Definition</a> — getting the problem statement right before searching for its cause.</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="sources">Sources</h2>
<p>The “5 Whys” technique, developed within the Toyota Production System.</p>
First Principles2020-01-22T23:37:15+01:002020-01-22T23:37:15+01:00
Joost van der Laan
https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/first-principles/<p>First-principles thinking means breaking a problem down into its most basic, verifiable truths and reasoning back up from there, rather than reasoning by analogy to how it has always been done.</p>
<h2 id="the-idea">The idea</h2>
<p>Most reasoning is by analogy: we do things a certain way because that’s how they’ve always been done, or because someone else does it that way. First-principles thinking strips away inherited assumptions and asks what is actually, verifiably true about the problem itself.</p>
<p>Aristotle described a first principle as “the first basis from which a thing is known.” Applied practically, that means decomposing a problem into its fundamental components, questioning every assumption layered on top, and rebuilding a solution using only what can be independently verified — rather than copying the existing approach.</p>
<p>Elon Musk popularized the approach with his battery-cost example. Rather than accept “battery packs are expensive because they’ve always been expensive,” he priced out the raw materials — cobalt, nickel, aluminium, carbon — at commodity market rates. The material floor came in far below the market price of a finished pack, exposing the gap as an opportunity rather than a fixed cost. He applied the same reasoning at SpaceX, pricing a rocket by its raw materials and components rather than the industry’s going rate.</p>
<h2 id="when-to-use-it">When to use it</h2>
<ul>
<li>A problem seems expensive “because that’s just how it’s always been done”</li>
<li>An industry or team seems anchored on outdated assumptions</li>
<li>A cost or constraint is treated as fixed just because of precedent</li>
<li>You want to innovate rather than iterate on an existing solution</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="how-to-apply-it">How to apply it</h2>
<ol>
<li>State the current belief or approach explicitly.</li>
<li>Break it down into fundamental, verifiable components.</li>
<li>Discard assumptions that aren’t actually fundamental — norms, “best practices,” sunk costs.</li>
<li>Price or measure each part from first sources — commodity markets, raw manufacturing costs, physics.</li>
<li>Reason back up from the fundamentals to a new approach.</li>
<li>Test the new approach against reality, not convention.</li>
</ol>
<h2 id="watch-out-for">Watch out for</h2>
<ul>
<li>Slow — reserve it for problems where convention may be wrong or costly</li>
<li>Easy to mistake a deeply-held assumption for a fundamental truth</li>
<li>Misidentified “fundamentals” can produce worse conclusions than analogy would</li>
<li>Shallow decomposition produces a false floor that ignores real engineering and assembly costs</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="related-models">Related models</h2>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/second-order-effect/">Second Order Effect</a> — once first principles gives you a new approach, second-order thinking checks its downstream consequences.</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/simplifying/">Simplifying</a> — first principles is one route to simplifying a problem down to its essentials.</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="sources">Sources</h2>
<ul>
<li>Aristotle, <em>Posterior Analytics</em>, on first principles as the basis of knowledge.</li>
<li>Elon Musk, TED2013 interview with Chris Anderson, on the battery-pack material-cost example.</li>
<li>Tim Urban, “The Cook and the Chef: Musk’s Secret Sauce,” Wait But Why (2015).</li>
</ul>
7 Levels of System Intervention2020-01-22T23:37:00+01:002020-01-22T23:37:00+01:00
Joost van der Laan
https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/7-levels-of-system-intervention/<p>Not every way of intervening in a system has the same power. Some levers are easy to pull but barely move outcomes; others are hard to pull but change what the system does at its root.</p>
<h2 id="the-idea">The idea</h2>
<p>Systems thinking distinguishes between shallow interventions — adjusting a parameter, a number, a budget — and deep interventions that change the rules, the information and feedback flows, the goal the system is organized around, or the underlying mindset that produced it in the first place. Tweaking a number rarely changes behavior for long, because the system’s structure and goals stay the same; changing the goal, the feedback loops, or the rules changes what the system actually optimizes for. The classic treatment of this idea is Donella Meadows’ essay on leverage points, which ranks a dozen types of intervention from weakest to strongest; shorter summaries of her work often condense the list into a handful of practical levels.</p>
<h2 id="when-to-use-it">When to use it</h2>
<ul>
<li>Diagnosing why a fix keeps not working, or keeps being undone.</li>
<li>Deciding where to spend limited effort in a stuck team, process, or organization.</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="how-to-apply-it">How to apply it</h2>
<ol>
<li>Name the system and the behavior you want to change.</li>
<li>List every lever available, from adjusting a number up to changing the goal or the paradigm behind the system.</li>
<li>Sort the levers from shallow to deep.</li>
<li>Check whether a deeper lever is realistically available before settling for a shallow one.</li>
</ol>
<h2 id="watch-out-for">Watch out for</h2>
<ul>
<li>Shallow interventions feel fast but rarely stick, because the structure producing the problem is untouched.</li>
<li>Deep interventions (goals, paradigms) are slower and harder to get agreement on — depth and difficulty tend to move together.</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="related-models">Related models</h2>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/feedback-loop/">Feedback loop</a> — one of the deeper leverage points this model draws on.</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/root-cause-analysis/">Root cause analysis</a> — a complementary way of finding where to intervene.</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/bottleneck/">Bottleneck</a> — a shallower, more localized point of intervention.</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="sources">Sources</h2>
<p>Donella Meadows, “Leverage Points: Places to Intervene in a System” (1999).
</content>
</invoke></p>
North Star2020-01-22T23:36:42+01:002020-01-22T23:36:42+01:00
Joost van der Laan
https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/north-star/<p>A North Star is a single metric or statement chosen to represent the core value a product or team
delivers, used to align decisions toward one outcome instead of many disconnected ones.</p>
<h2 id="the-idea">The idea</h2>
<p>Teams often end up optimizing for different, locally sensible metrics that pull in conflicting
directions. A North Star counters that by picking one measure that best reflects the value actually
delivered to customers — not just revenue or output — and using it as the shared reference point
everyone’s work ladders up to.</p>
<h2 id="when-to-use-it">When to use it</h2>
<ul>
<li>When multiple teams optimize for different, sometimes conflicting local metrics</li>
<li>When a company needs one shared measure of “value delivered” instead of many disconnected KPIs</li>
<li>When setting quarterly or annual strategy and objectives</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="how-to-apply-it">How to apply it</h2>
<ul>
<li>Pick a metric that reflects value the customer actually receives, not just a company output number</li>
<li>Confirm it is measurable and genuinely moves with real usage, not a vanity number</li>
<li>Cascade it into team-level input metrics that ladder up to it</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="watch-out-for">Watch out for</h2>
<ul>
<li>A single metric can be gamed or become a target that distorts behavior once people optimize for
the number itself</li>
<li>Choosing a metric that reflects company revenue rather than customer value defeats the purpose</li>
<li>Needs periodic revisiting as the product or strategy evolves</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="related-models">Related models</h2>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/objectives-and-key-results-okrs/">OKR</a> — a North Star sets the direction; OKRs set the quarterly steps toward it.</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/big-hairy-audacious-goal-bhag/">Big Hairy Audacious Goal (BHAG)</a> — a longer-horizon,
more aspirational counterpart.</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/goal-setting/">Goal Setting</a> — the broader practice a North Star anchors.</li>
</ul>
Sufficiency vs Maximization2020-01-22T23:36:32+01:002020-01-22T23:36:32+01:00
Joost van der Laan
https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/sufficiency-vs-maximization/<p>Sufficiency versus maximization contrasts two decision-making styles: “satisficing,” stopping once an option meets your criteria, against “maximizing,” continuing to search for the objectively best possible option.</p>
<h2 id="the-idea">The idea</h2>
<p>Economist and Nobel laureate Herbert Simon coined “satisficing” to describe how people actually make most decisions: given limited time and information, they pick the first option that clears a “good enough” bar rather than exhaustively comparing every alternative. A maximizer, by contrast, keeps searching for the single best option. Psychologist Barry Schwartz later studied maximizing as a personality tendency and linked it to lower satisfaction and more regret, since maximizers pay a real cost in time and second-guessing for often-marginal gains in quality.</p>
<h2 id="when-to-use-it">When to use it</h2>
<ul>
<li>Choosing among many similar options (products, job offers, restaurants) where search cost is high relative to the difference between good options.</li>
<li>Recognizing when you or someone else is stuck endlessly comparing alternatives instead of deciding.</li>
<li>Setting decision criteria in advance so “good enough” has a clear, concrete meaning.</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="how-to-apply-it">How to apply it</h2>
<ol>
<li>Before searching, define what “good enough” looks like — the concrete criteria an acceptable option must meet.</li>
<li>Search until an option meets those criteria, then stop.</li>
<li>Reserve maximizing effort for the rare decisions where the stakes genuinely justify the extra search cost.</li>
</ol>
<h2 id="watch-out-for">Watch out for</h2>
<ul>
<li>Satisficing without clear criteria can drift into simply taking the easiest option, not a deliberately sufficient one.</li>
<li>Maximizing scales poorly: the cost of comparing every option grows with the number of options, while the marginal benefit often shrinks.</li>
<li>The right style can depend on reversibility — it’s more worth maximizing a decision that’s hard to undo.</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="related-models">Related models</h2>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/regret-minimization/">Regret Minimization</a> — a related lens for weighing decisions by their emotional aftermath.</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/decision-making-on-short-medium-and-long-term/">Decision Making on Short, Medium and Long Term</a> — pairs different decision approaches to different time horizons.</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/prioritization-8020-pareto/">Prioritization 80/20 Pareto</a> — a way to decide where extra search effort is actually worth it.</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="sources">Sources</h2>
<p>Herbert A. Simon’s work on bounded rationality and “satisficing” (1950s-70s); Barry Schwartz, <em>The Paradox of Choice</em> (2004).</p>
Hurdle Rate2020-01-22T23:36:18+01:002020-01-22T23:36:18+01:00
Joost van der Laan
https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/hurdle-rate/<p>The hurdle rate is the minimum return an investment or project must earn before it’s considered worth doing at all.</p>
<h2 id="the-idea">The idea</h2>
<p>Every option competes against what you could otherwise do with the same money, time, or effort — its opportunity cost. The hurdle rate turns that comparison into a single number: a threshold return that a proposal must clear before it even enters the conversation. Set it too low and marginal projects crowd out better uses of scarce resources; set it too high and good opportunities get rejected. In finance, the hurdle rate is often built from a baseline cost of capital plus a risk premium, so riskier or less certain projects face a higher bar than safer ones. Framed this way, it’s opportunity cost made explicit and enforceable, rather than re-litigated case by case.</p>
<h2 id="when-to-use-it">When to use it</h2>
<ul>
<li>Comparing multiple investment or project proposals competing for the same limited capital</li>
<li>Deciding whether a new initiative is worth pursuing at all, before spending time on a detailed business case</li>
<li>Setting a personal bar for which opportunities deserve your time, not just your money</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="how-to-apply-it">How to apply it</h2>
<ol>
<li>Estimate your baseline cost of capital, or the return of your best readily available alternative</li>
<li>Add a risk premium if the opportunity is less certain or less liquid than that alternative</li>
<li>Reject or deprioritize anything that doesn’t clear the resulting threshold</li>
<li>Revisit the rate periodically — your opportunity cost changes as your options change</li>
</ol>
<h2 id="watch-out-for">Watch out for</h2>
<ul>
<li>A hurdle rate set once and never revisited can silently misallocate resources as conditions change</li>
<li>Overestimating expected returns to game a fixed hurdle rate is a common failure mode</li>
<li>A rate that’s too conservative can lead to rejecting genuinely good opportunities out of excess caution</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="related-models">Related models</h2>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/opportunity/">Opportunity</a> — the hurdle rate is a way of pricing opportunity cost explicitly.</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/compound-interest/">Compound Interest</a> — the baseline return a hurdle rate is often benchmarked against.</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="sources">Sources</h2>
<p>Standard concept in corporate finance and capital budgeting (net present value / discounted cash flow analysis).</p>
First Things First2020-01-22T23:36:06+01:002020-01-22T23:36:06+01:00
Joost van der Laan
https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/first-things-first/<p>First Things First is Stephen Covey’s principle for organizing time and effort around what is genuinely important, not just what is loudly urgent.</p>
<h2 id="the-idea">The idea</h2>
<p>Covey distinguishes urgent tasks from important ones and argues most people default to reacting to whatever demands attention right now. This crowds out “Quadrant II” work — important but not urgent activities like planning, relationship-building, prevention, and learning — that compounds in value over time but never forces itself onto today’s to-do list. Left unscheduled, Quadrant II work stays permanently at the bottom of the pile, because nothing about it is ever due today.</p>
<h2 id="when-to-use-it">When to use it</h2>
<ul>
<li>A weekly or quarterly planning review.</li>
<li>When you are constantly firefighting and never get to what actually matters.</li>
<li>Deciding whether to take on a new commitment.</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="how-to-apply-it">How to apply it</h2>
<ol>
<li>List your key roles and goals.</li>
<li>Identify the important-but-not-urgent activities for each role.</li>
<li>Schedule those first, before urgent items fill the calendar.</li>
<li>Review and re-schedule weekly.</li>
</ol>
<h2 id="watch-out-for">Watch out for</h2>
<ul>
<li>Confusing urgency with importance — loud does not mean valuable.</li>
<li>Letting important-but-not-urgent items keep slipping because nothing forces you to do them today.</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="related-models">Related models</h2>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/eisenhower-matrix/">Eisenhower Matrix</a> — the four-quadrant tool this principle is built on.</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/the-one-thing/">The One Thing</a> — a complementary way to decide what matters most.</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/goal-setting/">Goal Setting</a> — choosing the right things to prioritize in the first place.</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="sources">Sources</h2>
<p>Stephen Covey, A. Roger Merrill, and Rebecca R. Merrill, <em>First Things First</em> (1994); Stephen Covey, <em>The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People</em>.</p>
Productivity Pyramid2020-01-22T23:35:53+01:002020-01-22T23:35:53+01:00
Joost van der Laan
https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/productivity-pyramid/<p>The Productivity Pyramid is a way of organizing planning in layers, from broad values or vision at the top down to the day’s tasks at the bottom, so daily work stays connected to what actually matters.</p>
<h2 id="the-idea">The idea</h2>
<p>Planning systems that start from the to-do list alone tend to fill up with whatever is loudest that day. A pyramid structure inverts that: governing values and long-term goals sit at the top, intermediate and weekly goals sit in the middle, and daily tasks sit at the base. Each layer is meant to be derived from the one above it, so a given day’s list is a small, concrete slice of a much bigger direction rather than a disconnected set of demands.</p>
<h2 id="when-to-use-it">When to use it</h2>
<ul>
<li>Setting up a personal or team planning system from scratch</li>
<li>Noticing that daily busyness rarely connects to stated goals or values</li>
<li>A quarterly or annual planning review, to check whether the layers still line up</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="how-to-apply-it">How to apply it</h2>
<ol>
<li>Write down the governing values or long-term vision at the top.</li>
<li>Break that into a small number of long-range and intermediate goals.</li>
<li>Turn those into weekly goals or priorities.</li>
<li>Derive daily tasks from the weekly layer, not from whatever feels urgent that morning.</li>
</ol>
<h2 id="watch-out-for">Watch out for</h2>
<ul>
<li>The pyramid only helps if the layers are actually revisited; a values statement written once and never checked against daily tasks does nothing.</li>
<li>Too many goals at the middle layers defeats the purpose of a pyramid, which is meant to narrow, not multiply, priorities.</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="related-models">Related models</h2>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/first-things-first/">First Things First</a> — the underlying principle of organizing time around importance rather than urgency.</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/goal-setting/">Goal Setting</a> — choosing the right top-of-pyramid goal in the first place.</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/north-star/">North Star</a> — a single top-level metric that a pyramid’s layers can ladder up to.</li>
</ul>
The One Thing2020-01-22T23:35:20+01:002020-01-22T23:35:20+01:00
Joost van der Laan
https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/the-one-thing/<p>The One Thing is Gary Keller’s framework for cutting through a long to-do list by asking a single focusing question to find the highest-leverage action to do first.</p>
<h2 id="the-idea">The idea</h2>
<p>The book’s central tool is the focusing question: “What’s the ONE Thing I can do such that by doing it everything else will be easier or unnecessary?” Instead of treating every task as roughly equally important, the framework argues that a small number of actions — sometimes just one — make outsized downstream tasks easier or moot entirely, and that finding and doing that action first beats spreading effort evenly across a long list.</p>
<h2 id="when-to-use-it">When to use it</h2>
<ul>
<li>A to-do list has grown long enough that everything feels urgent and equally important.</li>
<li>Starting a new project, week, or day and deciding where to put first effort.</li>
<li>Feeling busy without feeling like the important work is actually moving.</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="how-to-apply-it">How to apply it</h2>
<ol>
<li>Ask the focusing question for the relevant time frame (today, this week, this year, this life).</li>
<li>Identify the one action that would make the most other items easier or unnecessary.</li>
<li>Do that action before anything else competes for the same time.</li>
<li>Repeat the question at the next time frame down, so the daily “one thing” ladders up to longer-term goals.</li>
</ol>
<h2 id="watch-out-for">Watch out for</h2>
<ul>
<li>Treating “the one thing” as license to ignore genuinely time-sensitive small tasks that still need doing.</li>
<li>Picking an easy or comfortable task and rationalizing it as “the one thing” rather than the truly highest-leverage one.</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="related-models">Related models</h2>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/first-things-first/">First Things First</a> — a related way to separate the important from the merely urgent.</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/prioritization-8020-pareto/">Prioritization 80/20 Pareto</a> — the same underlying idea that a small share of effort drives most of the result.</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/goal-setting/">Goal Setting</a> — choosing the right goal that “the one thing” should be in service of.</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="sources">Sources</h2>
<p>Gary Keller with Jay Papasan, <em>The One Thing: The Surprisingly Simple Truth Behind Extraordinary Results</em> (2013).</p>
Eisenhower Matrix2020-01-22T23:35:00+01:002020-01-22T23:35:00+01:00
Joost van der Laan
https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/eisenhower-matrix/<p>The Eisenhower Matrix is a simple prioritization tool that sorts tasks along two axes — urgent/not urgent and important/not important — into four quadrants.</p>
<h2 id="the-idea">The idea</h2>
<p>The matrix takes its name from a line often attributed to U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower — “What is important is seldom urgent, and what is urgent is seldom important” — though historians note the attribution is disputed. The four quadrants are: Important & Urgent (do now), Important & Not Urgent (schedule), Not Important & Urgent (delegate), and Not Important & Not Urgent (drop). Most people default to reacting to whatever feels urgent, which crowds out the important-but-not-urgent work — like planning, learning, and relationships — that compounds over time.</p>
<h2 id="when-to-use-it">When to use it</h2>
<ul>
<li>A to-do list has grown unmanageable and everything feels equally pressing.</li>
<li>Deciding what to delegate versus handle personally.</li>
<li>Reviewing a week or quarter to check whether important-but-not-urgent work is being neglected.</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="how-to-apply-it">How to apply it</h2>
<ol>
<li>List current tasks and commitments.</li>
<li>Place each into one of the four quadrants.</li>
<li>Do quadrant-1 items now, schedule time for quadrant-2 items, delegate quadrant-3 items, and eliminate quadrant-4 items.</li>
<li>Periodically re-sort, since urgency changes but importance usually doesn’t.</li>
</ol>
<h2 id="watch-out-for">Watch out for</h2>
<p>Urgency is often self-inflicted through poor planning or other people’s poor planning; the matrix works best combined with actually protecting time for quadrant 2. It’s also a coarse tool — for complex projects it’s a starting filter, not a full planning method.</p>
<h2 id="related-models">Related models</h2>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/first-things-first/">First Things First</a> — the broader principle of prioritizing importance over urgency.</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/the-one-thing/">The One Thing</a> — a complementary focusing question for choosing what matters most.</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/prioritization-8020-pareto/">Prioritization 8020 Pareto</a> — another lens for deciding where effort pays off most.</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="sources">Sources</h2>
<p>Commonly attributed to Dwight D. Eisenhower; popularized as a time-management tool by Stephen Covey in <em>The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People</em>.</p>
Critical Path Analysis2020-01-22T23:34:47+01:002020-01-22T23:34:47+01:00
Joost van der Laan
https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/critical-path-analysis/<p>Critical path analysis maps out every task in a project along with its dependencies to find the longest chain of dependent tasks — the sequence that determines the earliest possible finish date.</p>
<h2 id="the-idea">The idea</h2>
<p>Not every task in a project is equally urgent. Some tasks have slack — they can slip a few days without delaying the overall project — while others sit on the “critical path”: if any one of them is delayed, the whole project’s end date slips. Identifying the critical path tells you exactly where schedule risk lives and where extra effort or resources actually shorten delivery time.</p>
<h2 id="when-to-use-it">When to use it</h2>
<ul>
<li>Planning a project with many interdependent tasks</li>
<li>Deciding where to add resources when a deadline is tight</li>
<li>Explaining to stakeholders why some delays matter and others don’t</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="how-to-apply-it">How to apply it</h2>
<ol>
<li>List every task and its dependencies (which tasks must finish before this one starts).</li>
<li>Estimate the duration of each task.</li>
<li>Map out all possible paths through the task network from start to finish.</li>
<li>The longest path in total duration is the critical path; tasks on it have zero slack.</li>
<li>Focus schedule protection and resource allocation on critical-path tasks.</li>
</ol>
<h2 id="watch-out-for">Watch out for</h2>
<ul>
<li>Task duration estimates are often optimistic, which understates real project risk</li>
<li>The critical path can shift as tasks slip — it needs to be recalculated, not set once</li>
<li>Optimizing non-critical tasks doesn’t shorten the project at all</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="related-models">Related models</h2>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/bottleneck/">Bottleneck</a> — a related idea about the single constraint limiting throughput in a system.</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/waterfall/">Waterfall</a> — the sequential project model in which critical path analysis is most commonly applied.</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="sources">Sources</h2>
<p>The critical path method was developed in the 1950s at DuPont and Remington Rand, credited to Morgan Walker and James Kelley, and is now standard in project management literature (e.g. the Project Management Institute’s PMBOK Guide).</p>
Bottleneck2020-01-22T23:34:30+01:002020-01-22T23:34:30+01:00
Joost van der Laan
https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/bottleneck/<p>A bottleneck is the one part of a system that limits everything else — a system can never move faster than its slowest constraint, so improving anything other than the bottleneck rarely improves the whole.</p>
<h2 id="the-idea">The idea</h2>
<p>In any process made of sequential or interdependent steps, one step has the least capacity and sets the pace for all the others. Speeding up a non-bottleneck step just creates idle capacity or a pile-up in front of the bottleneck; it does not raise total output. This is the core insight behind the theory of constraints: find the constraint, exploit it fully, then subordinate everything else to it.</p>
<h2 id="when-to-use-it">When to use it</h2>
<ul>
<li>Output or throughput has plateaued despite effort spread across many parts of a process.</li>
<li>Diagnosing why a team, pipeline, or system underperforms its apparent capacity.</li>
<li>Deciding where to invest limited time or budget for the biggest overall gain.</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="how-to-apply-it">How to apply it</h2>
<ol>
<li>Map the process end to end and measure the capacity or speed of each step.</li>
<li>Identify the step with the least capacity relative to demand — that is the bottleneck.</li>
<li>Protect and fully utilize that step first (remove waste, avoid starving it of input).</li>
<li>Only after the bottleneck is relieved, look for a new one — it will have moved elsewhere.</li>
</ol>
<h2 id="watch-out-for">Watch out for</h2>
<p>Optimizing a non-bottleneck step feels productive but does not change total output, and can even hide the real constraint. Bottlenecks move once relieved, so this is a repeating diagnosis, not a one-time fix.</p>
<h2 id="related-models">Related models</h2>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/critical-path-analysis/">Critical Path Analysis</a> — identifies the sequence of dependent steps that determines total project duration.</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/root-cause-analysis/">Root Cause Analysis</a> — a complementary way to find what is really limiting a system, not just its symptoms.</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="sources">Sources</h2>
<p>Eliyahu M. Goldratt’s Theory of Constraints, introduced in his book “The Goal” (1984), is the foundational treatment of bottlenecks as the single limiting factor in a system’s throughput.</p>
Third Order Effect2020-01-22T23:33:31+01:002020-01-22T23:33:31+01:00
Joost van der Laan
https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/third-order-effect/<p>A third-order effect is a consequence of a consequence of a consequence — the third link in a causal chain, reached by asking “and then what?” one step further than second-order thinking already does.</p>
<h2 id="the-idea">The idea</h2>
<p>First-order effects are the immediate, obvious result of a decision. Second-order effects are what those results then cause. Third-order effects go one step further still — delayed and easy to miss because two intervening steps separate them from the original decision. The point isn’t precision, since predictions get less certain the further out they go; it’s catching consequences a shallower analysis would stop short of, especially ones that offset or reverse the decision’s apparent benefit.</p>
<h2 id="when-to-use-it">When to use it</h2>
<ul>
<li>High-stakes or hard-to-reverse decisions, where a delayed consequence is costly.</li>
<li>Policy, product, or organizational changes that ripple through an interconnected system.</li>
<li>Whenever a decision’s first-order effect looks obviously good — that’s when a later-order downside is easiest to miss.</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="how-to-apply-it">How to apply it</h2>
<ol>
<li>State the decision and its immediate, first-order effect.</li>
<li>Ask “and then what happens?” to get the second-order effect.</li>
<li>Ask it again to reach the third order, noting where confidence starts to drop.</li>
<li>Weigh the decision against all three levels, not just the first.</li>
</ol>
<h2 id="watch-out-for">Watch out for</h2>
<ul>
<li>Confidence drops with each order out — treat third-order predictions as scenarios to watch for, not forecasts.</li>
<li>It’s easy to stop right after the first favorable-looking effect; keep asking “and then what?”</li>
<li>Chains branch rather than stay linear, so one decision may have several distinct third-order effects.</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="related-models">Related models</h2>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/second-order-effect/">Second-Order Effect</a> — the preceding link in the same causal chain.</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/probabilistic-thinking/">Probabilistic Thinking</a> — for weighing the declining certainty of later-order effects.</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/decision-making-on-short-medium-and-long-term/">Decision Making on Short, Medium and Long Term</a> — later-order effects tend to surface over longer horizons.</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="sources">Sources</h2>
<p>Tracing decisions through multiple orders of consequence is discussed by investor Howard Marks in his Oaktree memos on “second-level thinking,” and popularized as first-, second-, and third-order thinking by Shane Parrish’s Farnam Street.</p>
Second Order Effect2020-01-22T23:32:51+01:002020-01-22T23:32:51+01:00
Joost van der Laan
https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/second-order-effect/<p>Second-order thinking looks past the immediate, obvious result of a decision to the effects that result triggers in turn.</p>
<h2 id="the-idea">The idea</h2>
<p>First-order thinking stops at the direct, immediate consequence of an action. Second-order thinking asks “and then what?” — tracing how that consequence changes incentives, behavior, or conditions further down the line. Many decisions that look good at the first level, such as a quick fix or a well-intentioned subsidy, turn out badly once their downstream effects are followed through.</p>
<h2 id="when-to-use-it">When to use it</h2>
<ul>
<li>Evaluating policies, incentives, or rules that change how people behave once in place</li>
<li>Assessing an appealing “obvious” decision before committing to it</li>
<li>Comparing options where the immediate payoff differs from the long-run outcome</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="how-to-apply-it">How to apply it</h2>
<ol>
<li>State the direct, first-order effect of the decision.</li>
<li>Ask what that effect changes — behavior, incentives, resources, relationships.</li>
<li>Trace at least one more step: what those changes cause next.</li>
<li>Weigh the second-order effects against the first-order appeal before deciding.</li>
</ol>
<h2 id="watch-out-for">Watch out for</h2>
<ul>
<li>Chains of consequences can be traced indefinitely; stop once further steps become too speculative to be useful.</li>
<li>Overcorrecting by rejecting every option with a good first-order effect out of fear of hidden downsides.</li>
<li>Confusing plausible-sounding second-order stories with actually likely ones.</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="related-models">Related models</h2>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/third-order-effect/">Third Order Effect</a> — extending the same reasoning one step further.</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/probabilistic-thinking/">Probabilistic Thinking</a> — weighing how likely each downstream effect actually is.</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/decision-making-on-short-medium-and-long-term/">Decision Making on Short, Medium and Long Term</a> — a related way of separating immediate from later consequences.</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="sources">Sources</h2>
<p>Howard Marks, <em>The Most Important Thing: Uncommon Sense for the Thoughtful Investor</em> (on first-level versus second-level thinking); Dietrich Dörner, <em>The Logic of Failure</em> (on the side effects and delayed consequences of intervening in complex systems).</p>
Tipping Point2020-01-22T23:32:39+01:002020-01-22T23:32:39+01:00
Joost van der Laan
https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/tipping-point/<p>A tipping point is the moment at which a series of small, incremental changes accumulate enough that a system shifts suddenly and dramatically into a new state.</p>
<h2 id="the-idea">The idea</h2>
<p>Below the tipping point, a trend, idea, or behavior can grow slowly for a long time without looking significant. Once it crosses a critical threshold, growth accelerates rapidly — the way an epidemic spreads once enough carriers exist, or a product goes from niche to mainstream once enough people adopt it. Malcolm Gladwell popularized the term in <em>The Tipping Point</em>, drawing on epidemiology to argue that ideas and behaviors spread like contagious outbreaks, driven by a small number of highly connected or persuasive people, a “stickiness” in the message, and the surrounding context.</p>
<h2 id="when-to-use-it">When to use it</h2>
<ul>
<li>Explaining why growth in adoption, sales, or a trend looked flat for a long time and then suddenly accelerated</li>
<li>Deciding where to focus limited effort — on the small changes most likely to push a system past its threshold</li>
<li>Anticipating that a system near its tipping point can flip quickly in either direction</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="how-to-apply-it">How to apply it</h2>
<ol>
<li>Identify the system’s current position relative to a plausible threshold, not just its current size.</li>
<li>Look for the small number of factors — people, features, or conditions — most likely to move the system across that threshold.</li>
<li>Concentrate effort there rather than spreading it evenly across everything.</li>
</ol>
<h2 id="watch-out-for">Watch out for</h2>
<p>Tipping points are usually identifiable only in hindsight; the exact threshold is rarely knowable in advance. It is also easy to invoke the idea as a post-hoc explanation for any sudden change without pointing to a specific mechanism.</p>
<h2 id="related-models">Related models</h2>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/wisdom-of-crowds/">Wisdom of Crowds</a> — another model of how aggregate behavior emerges from many individual decisions.</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/small-world-phenomenon/">Small World Phenomenon</a> — the network structure that lets a change reach a tipping point quickly.</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/social-proof/">Social Proof</a> — one of the mechanisms that can accelerate a trend toward its tipping point.</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="sources">Sources</h2>
<p>Malcolm Gladwell, <em>The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference</em> (2000).</p>
Probabilistic Thinking2020-01-22T23:32:30+01:002020-01-22T23:32:30+01:00
Joost van der Laan
https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/probabilistic-thinking/<p>Probabilistic thinking means estimating the likelihood of different outcomes rather than assuming any single prediction is certain, and updating those estimates as new information arrives.</p>
<h2 id="the-idea">The idea</h2>
<p>Most real-world questions don’t have a single guaranteed answer — they have a range of possible outcomes, each with a different chance of happening. Probabilistic thinkers assign rough odds to outcomes instead of thinking in binary “will happen / won’t happen” terms, and they revise those odds as evidence comes in. Charlie Munger listed this among the core mental models worth carrying in a decision-maker’s “latticework,” alongside basic ideas from statistics such as expected value and base rates.</p>
<h2 id="when-to-use-it">When to use it</h2>
<ul>
<li>Forecasting outcomes with incomplete information (business bets, investments, planning)</li>
<li>Weighing risks where the cost of being wrong varies by outcome</li>
<li>Evaluating claims or predictions made with false certainty</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="how-to-apply-it">How to apply it</h2>
<ol>
<li>List the plausible outcomes, not just the one you expect.</li>
<li>Assign a rough likelihood to each, using base rates where available.</li>
<li>Weigh outcomes by both probability and impact (expected value), not just probability alone.</li>
<li>Update your estimates as new evidence arrives instead of anchoring on the first guess.</li>
</ol>
<h2 id="watch-out-for">Watch out for</h2>
<ul>
<li>False precision — a rough probability is still more honest than false certainty, but don’t over-trust a specific number.</li>
<li>Ignoring base rates in favor of a compelling story (a common source of misjudgment).</li>
<li>Ignoring how a single bad outcome, even if unlikely, can be catastrophic (fat-tail risk).</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="related-models">Related models</h2>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/decision-making-on-short-medium-and-long-term/">Decision Making on Short, Medium and Long Term</a> — probabilistic thinking feeds into weighing choices across time horizons.</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/first-principles/">First Principles</a> — another core reasoning tool from the same mental-models toolkit.</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/regret-minimization/">Regret Minimization</a> — a complementary way to decide under uncertainty.</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="sources">Sources</h2>
<p>Charlie Munger’s talks on a “latticework of mental models,” collected in <em>Poor Charlie’s Almanack</em>.</p>
Feedback Loop2020-01-22T23:32:19+01:002020-01-22T23:32:19+01:00
Joost van der Laan
https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/feedback-loop/<p>A feedback loop is a system structure in which a process’s output is routed back as an input, either reinforcing the trend (positive/reinforcing feedback) or counteracting it (negative/balancing feedback).</p>
<h2 id="the-idea">The idea</h2>
<p>In a reinforcing loop, more output produces more of the same effect, driving exponential growth or collapse (compound interest, viral growth, arms races). In a balancing loop, more output triggers a corrective response that pulls the system back toward equilibrium (a thermostat, supply and demand, homeostasis). Most real systems combine both loop types, and their interaction — not either loop alone — determines long-run behavior.</p>
<h2 id="when-to-use-it">When to use it</h2>
<ul>
<li>Diagnosing why a system is growing, stalling, or oscillating</li>
<li>Designing incentive or measurement systems, where fast, accurate feedback enables course correction</li>
<li>Understanding delayed effects, where a correction arrives too late and causes overshoot</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="how-to-apply-it">How to apply it</h2>
<ol>
<li>Map what output feeds back into the system as an input, and through what delay.</li>
<li>Classify the loop as reinforcing (amplifies) or balancing (dampens).</li>
<li>Look for the dominant loop at each point in time — dominance often shifts as a system evolves.</li>
</ol>
<h2 id="watch-out-for">Watch out for</h2>
<ul>
<li>Long delays between action and feedback make loops hard to see and easy to over- or under-correct</li>
<li>Reinforcing loops without a counteracting balancing loop tend toward runaway growth or collapse</li>
<li>Metrics that create their own reinforcing loop (optimizing for a proxy) can distort behavior</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="related-models">Related models</h2>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/compound-interest/">Compound Interest</a> — a canonical reinforcing feedback loop.</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/second-order-effect/">Second-Order Effect</a> — feedback loops are a common source of second-order effects.</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/bottleneck/">Bottleneck</a> — balancing loops often act through bottlenecks.</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="sources">Sources</h2>
<p>Donella Meadows, <em>Thinking in Systems: A Primer</em> (2008); Jay Forrester’s foundational work in system dynamics.</p>
Common Cause2020-01-22T23:31:50+01:002020-01-22T23:31:50+01:00
Joost van der Laan
https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/common-cause/<p>Common cause describes variation in a process that comes from its normal, everyday operation rather than from any single identifiable, unusual event.</p>
<h2 id="the-idea">The idea</h2>
<p>In statistical process control, variation falls into two categories: common cause (or “chance cause”) variation, the natural noise built into a stable system, and special cause variation, which comes from something specific and identifiable, such as a broken machine or a one-off event. Common cause variation affects every outcome the process produces and can only be reduced by changing the system itself; treating it as a special, one-off cause leads to overreacting to normal noise.</p>
<h2 id="when-to-use-it">When to use it</h2>
<ul>
<li>Interpreting fluctuations in metrics, quality data, or performance results before reacting to them</li>
<li>Deciding whether a problem needs a systemic fix or a targeted, one-off fix</li>
<li>Building control charts or dashboards that separate signal from noise</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="how-to-apply-it">How to apply it</h2>
<ol>
<li>Collect enough data points to see the normal range of variation in the process</li>
<li>Plot the data over time, for example a control chart, and identify the expected range of common cause variation</li>
<li>Investigate points that fall clearly outside that range as potential special causes</li>
<li>For variation within the normal range, improve the system as a whole rather than chasing individual data points</li>
</ol>
<h2 id="watch-out-for">Watch out for</h2>
<ul>
<li>Treating ordinary common cause variation as a special event leads to overcorrection and adds noise, a mistake W. Edwards Deming called “tampering”</li>
<li>Ignoring genuine special causes because they get lumped in with normal variation</li>
<li>Small sample sizes make it hard to tell the two types of variation apart</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="related-models">Related models</h2>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/root-cause-analysis/">Root cause analysis</a> — finding the underlying cause of a specific, often special-cause, problem</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/multiple-causation/">Multiple causation</a> — the related idea that outcomes often result from several contributing causes, not one</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/controlled-experiment/">Controlled experiment</a> — a way to isolate whether a change is a real (special) cause of an effect</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="sources">Sources</h2>
<p>W. Edwards Deming’s work on statistical process control, building on Walter Shewhart’s distinction between common cause and special cause (assignable cause) variation, developed at Bell Labs in the 1920s.</p>
Bottom Up vs Top Down Causation2020-01-22T23:31:23+01:002020-01-22T23:31:23+01:00
Joost van der Laan
https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/bottom-up-vs-top-down-causation/<p>Systems can be changed by acting on their smallest parts and letting effects aggregate upward, or by acting on the structure of the whole and letting that reshape the parts — most real change involves both directions at once.</p>
<h2 id="the-idea">The idea</h2>
<p>Bottom-up causation is the sum of many small, local interactions producing a larger pattern — individual cells producing an organism, individual traders producing a market price, individual habits producing a culture. Top-down causation runs the other way: the structure or state of the whole constrains and directs its parts — an organism’s overall state affects its cells, a market’s rules shape individual trades, a culture’s norms shape individual habits. Neither direction alone fully explains most systems; treating a problem as purely one or the other is usually a modeling shortcut, not reality.</p>
<h2 id="when-to-use-it">When to use it</h2>
<ul>
<li>Diagnosing whether a problem is better fixed by changing individual behaviors or by changing the surrounding structure/rules.</li>
<li>Understanding why changing individuals one at a time sometimes fails to change an organization, and vice versa.</li>
<li>Reasoning about systems where feedback runs in both directions, like organizations, ecosystems, or markets.</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="how-to-apply-it">How to apply it</h2>
<ol>
<li>Ask what change would happen if you only intervened at the smallest-part level.</li>
<li>Ask what change would happen if you only intervened at the whole-system level.</li>
<li>Look for the feedback loop connecting the two, and target the point where intervention compounds in both directions.</li>
</ol>
<h2 id="watch-out-for">Watch out for</h2>
<p>Picking only one direction of causation tends to produce interventions that fight the other and quietly fail. Strong feedback loops can make it hard to tell which direction is actually driving an observed change.</p>
<h2 id="related-models">Related models</h2>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/multiple-causation/">Multiple Causation</a> — the related idea that most outcomes have more than one contributing cause.</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/7-levels-of-system-intervention/">7 Levels of System Intervention</a> — a framework for choosing where in a system to intervene.</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/second-order-effect/">Second Order Effect</a> — how a change at one level ripples into effects at another.</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="sources">Sources</h2>
<p>Psychologist Donald T. Campbell named “downward causation” in his 1974 work on hierarchically organized biological systems; bottom-up causation is the older, more intuitive counterpart discussed throughout systems theory.</p>
Root Cause vs Proximate Use2020-01-22T23:31:05+01:002020-01-22T23:31:05+01:00
Joost van der Laan
https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/root-cause-vs-proximate-use/<p>Root cause and proximate cause are two different points in the same chain of events: the proximate cause is the last event immediately before an outcome, while the root cause is the earlier point where an intervention would actually have prevented it.</p>
<h2 id="the-idea">The idea</h2>
<p>Every outcome can be traced back through a chain of contributing events. The proximate cause sits closest to the outcome — it’s the most visible, easiest explanation, and often the first thing named. The root cause sits further back in the chain, at the underlying condition that, if changed, would have stopped not just this instance of the problem but its whole class. Confusing the two produces fixes that treat the same problem repeatedly.</p>
<h2 id="when-to-use-it">When to use it</h2>
<ul>
<li>Incident reviews and postmortems, to avoid closing on the easy but insufficient explanation</li>
<li>Any recurring problem, to check whether previous fixes only addressed the proximate cause</li>
<li>Assigning responsibility fairly, since the proximate actor is not always where the real leverage sits</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="how-to-apply-it">How to apply it</h2>
<ol>
<li>Identify the proximate cause first — the immediate trigger.</li>
<li>Keep asking why that trigger was possible, moving one step further back each time.</li>
<li>Stop when you reach a point where a change would prevent the whole class of problem, not just this one instance.</li>
<li>Fix the root cause, but don’t ignore the proximate one if it also needs immediate remediation.</li>
</ol>
<h2 id="watch-out-for">Watch out for</h2>
<ul>
<li>Stopping at the proximate cause because it’s simpler to communicate and assign blame to</li>
<li>Assuming every chain has exactly one root cause when several factors may combine</li>
<li>Digging so far back that the “root cause” becomes too abstract to act on</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="related-models">Related models</h2>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/root-cause-analysis/">Root Cause Analysis</a> — the structured process for finding the root cause.</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/indentify-root-causes/">Indentify Root Causes</a> — the general principle behind this distinction.</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/multiple-causation/">Multiple Causation</a> — root causes are often plural, not singular.</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="sources">Sources</h2>
<p>Root-cause versus proximate-cause is standard terminology in incident-review and quality-management practice, including the “5 Whys” technique within the Toyota Production System.</p>
Multiple Causation2020-01-22T23:30:06+01:002020-01-22T23:30:06+01:00
Joost van der Laan
https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/multiple-causation/<p>Multiple causation is the recognition that most significant outcomes —
successes, failures, disasters, decisions — result from several factors
acting together rather than one single, clean cause.</p>
<h2 id="the-idea">The idea</h2>
<p>It’s tempting to explain an outcome with a single story: the company failed
because of one bad decision, the accident happened because of one mistake.
In reality, complex outcomes usually arise from a combination of
contributing factors, several of which had to be present or align for the
outcome to occur. Removing any one of them might have changed or prevented
the result, which means no single factor alone is “the” cause. When several
reinforcing causes push in the same direction at once, the combined effect
can be far larger than any one of them would produce alone.</p>
<h2 id="when-to-use-it">When to use it</h2>
<ul>
<li>Investigating an incident, failure, or unusually good outcome, before
settling on a single explanation.</li>
<li>Making a decision that depends on several independent factors going
right, not just one.</li>
<li>Being skeptical of simple, single-cause narratives in the news or in
post-mortems.</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="how-to-apply-it">How to apply it</h2>
<ol>
<li>List every factor that plausibly contributed to the outcome, not just
the most visible one.</li>
<li>For each factor, ask whether the outcome would still have happened
without it.</li>
<li>Look for factors that reinforce each other rather than acting
independently — these combinations often explain extreme outcomes.</li>
</ol>
<h2 id="watch-out-for">Watch out for</h2>
<ul>
<li>Settling for the first plausible single cause because it’s simpler to
communicate.</li>
<li>Diluting accountability by spreading blame across so many factors that
none of them can be acted on.</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="related-models">Related models</h2>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/common-cause/">Common Cause</a> — a related distinction between
ordinary systemic variation and a specific, identifiable cause.</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/root-cause-analysis/">Root Cause Analysis</a> — a method for
tracing an outcome back to its contributing causes.</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/lollapalooza/">Lollapalooza</a> — the extreme case where
multiple reinforcing causes combine into an outsized effect.</li>
</ul>
Brokerage Closure2020-01-22T23:29:06+01:002020-01-22T23:29:06+01:00
Joost van der Laan
https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/brokerage-closure/<p>Networks create value in two opposite ways: by bridging gaps between otherwise unconnected groups, or by tightly closing a group so its members trust and reinforce one another — and a person or organization is rarely strong at both at once.</p>
<h2 id="the-idea">The idea</h2>
<p>Brokerage is the position of sitting between groups that are not otherwise connected — a structural hole, in Ronald Burt’s terms. Brokers see information and opportunities earlier because they are exposed to multiple, non-redundant networks, and can shape how those groups interact. Closure is the opposite: a densely interconnected group where everyone knows everyone, which builds trust and the ability to enforce cooperation, but limits exposure to new information because the group mostly talks to itself.</p>
<h2 id="when-to-use-it">When to use it</h2>
<ul>
<li>Deciding whether to invest in deepening ties within an existing group or building bridges to new, unconnected ones.</li>
<li>Explaining why some people or teams consistently spot opportunities others miss.</li>
<li>Diagnosing why a tightly bonded team is slow to notice outside change, or why a well-connected individual struggles to build deep trust.</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="how-to-apply-it">How to apply it</h2>
<ol>
<li>Map your own network into distinct, non-overlapping clusters.</li>
<li>Identify where you (or your organization) currently sit — as a bridge between clusters, or embedded within one.</li>
<li>Deliberately choose brokerage (build a bridge to a new cluster) or closure (deepen ties within one) based on whether you need novel information or reliable cooperation.</li>
</ol>
<h2 id="watch-out-for">Watch out for</h2>
<p>Pure brokerage without any closure can mean shallow, low-trust relationships and difficulty executing on what you learn. Pure closure without brokerage can mean a group that is efficient and loyal but blind to outside change.</p>
<h2 id="related-models">Related models</h2>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/small-world-phenomenon/">Small World Phenomenon</a> — the network structure that makes brokerage positions so valuable.</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/centrality/">Centrality</a> — a related way of measuring a node’s structural importance in a network.</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/network-building/">Network Building</a> — practical approaches to building the kind of network position you need.</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="sources">Sources</h2>
<p>Ronald S. Burt’s “structural holes” theory, in “Structural Holes: The Social Structure of Competition” (1992), is the foundational treatment of brokerage; closure draws on James Coleman’s work on social capital (1988).</p>
Small World Phenomenon2020-01-22T23:28:52+01:002020-01-22T23:28:52+01:00
Joost van der Laan
https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/small-world-phenomenon/<p>The small-world phenomenon is the finding that most people in a large network are connected to each other through only a small number of intermediate links.</p>
<h2 id="the-idea">The idea</h2>
<p>Even in huge networks — social, professional, or digital — the typical path length between any two nodes is surprisingly short. The idea is best known through the “six degrees of separation” experiments: Stanley Milgram’s 1960s letter-forwarding studies suggested most people in the U.S. could reach a stranger through a chain of about six acquaintances. Network science explains why: a mostly tight-cluster network turns “small world” once a few long-range links between distant clusters appear — a structure formalized by Duncan Watts and Steven Strogatz.</p>
<h2 id="when-to-use-it">When to use it</h2>
<ul>
<li>Explaining why information, trends, or diseases spread through a population unexpectedly fast</li>
<li>Understanding why a handful of well-placed connections matter more than raw network size</li>
<li>Reasoning about how quickly an introduction or opportunity can reach someone outside your circle</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="how-to-apply-it">How to apply it</h2>
<ul>
<li>Look for the few long-range or bridging connections in a network rather than only its dense local clusters.</li>
<li>When you need to reach someone far outside your circle, expect it to take only a handful of well-chosen introductions, not none.</li>
<li>Recognize that adding or removing a few bridging links can change how fast something spreads through the network.</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="watch-out-for">Watch out for</h2>
<ul>
<li>“Six degrees” is a popularized shorthand from limited experiments, not an exact law that applies everywhere.</li>
<li>A short average path length doesn’t mean every path is easy to find or use — a chain existing differs from being able to activate it.</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="related-models">Related models</h2>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/centrality/">Centrality</a> — measures which nodes matter most within this kind of network structure.</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/brokerage-closure/">Brokerage and Closure</a> — describes the bridging positions that create small-world short paths.</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/network-building/">Network Building</a> — a practical approach to positioning yourself well within such a network.</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="sources">Sources</h2>
<p>Stanley Milgram, “The Small World Problem” (<em>Psychology Today</em>, 1967); Duncan J. Watts and Steven H. Strogatz, “Collective dynamics of ‘small-world’ networks” (<em>Nature</em>, 1998).</p>
Wisdom of Crowds2020-01-22T23:28:37+01:002020-01-22T23:28:37+01:00
Joost van der Laan
https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/wisdom-of-crowds/<p>The wisdom of crowds is the finding that aggregating many independent, diverse judgments often produces an estimate more accurate than most individual experts could manage alone.</p>
<h2 id="the-idea">The idea</h2>
<p>James Surowiecki popularized the idea in <em>The Wisdom of Crowds</em>, building on earlier observations such as Francis Galton’s 1907 finding that the median guess of a crowd at a county fair accurately estimated an ox’s weight, beating most individual guesses including experts’. The effect depends on specific conditions: contributors need diversity of opinion, independence from one another, decentralized local knowledge, and a mechanism to aggregate individual judgments into a collective one. Errors that are individually random tend to cancel out in aggregate, leaving the shared signal.</p>
<h2 id="when-to-use-it">When to use it</h2>
<ul>
<li>Estimating an uncertain quantity where many people have partial, independent information</li>
<li>Forecasting or prediction markets, where aggregating many bets outperforms any single forecaster</li>
<li>Deciding whether to trust a poll, review score, or crowd estimate as evidence</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="how-to-apply-it">How to apply it</h2>
<ol>
<li>Collect judgments from a genuinely diverse and independent set of people.</li>
<li>Make sure individuals form their estimate before seeing others’ answers, to preserve independence.</li>
<li>Aggregate with a simple, transparent method (e.g. mean or median) rather than letting a subgroup dominate.</li>
</ol>
<h2 id="watch-out-for">Watch out for</h2>
<p>The effect collapses once independence breaks down — if people can see and copy each other’s answers, the crowd stops averaging out errors and instead converges on a shared bias, which is the mechanism behind social proof and herd behavior. A crowd that is not actually diverse (e.g. everyone with the same blind spot) will be reliably wrong together.</p>
<h2 id="related-models">Related models</h2>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/crowdsourcing/">Crowdsourcing</a> — a practical application of aggregating crowd input to generate or filter ideas.</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/social-proof/">Social Proof</a> — describes the opposite failure mode, where independence breaks down and the crowd converges on a shared error.</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/small-world-phenomenon/">Small World Phenomenon</a> — describes the network structure through which crowd opinions can spread and lose independence.</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="sources">Sources</h2>
<p>James Surowiecki, <em>The Wisdom of Crowds</em> (2004); Francis Galton, “Vox Populi” (<em>Nature</em>, 1907).</p>
Centrality2020-01-22T23:28:19+01:002020-01-22T23:28:19+01:00
Joost van der Laan
https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/centrality/<p>Centrality measures how important or influential a node is within a network, based on its position and connections relative to others.</p>
<h2 id="the-idea">The idea</h2>
<p>In network analysis, centrality captures a node’s structural importance. Common measures include degree centrality (how many direct connections a node has), betweenness centrality (how often a node sits on the shortest path between other nodes, making it a broker or bottleneck), and closeness centrality (how quickly a node can reach every other node in the network). A person, product, or idea with high centrality often has outsized influence or information flow compared to peripheral nodes, even without formal authority.</p>
<h2 id="when-to-use-it">When to use it</h2>
<ul>
<li>Mapping who actually holds influence in an organization, beyond the org chart</li>
<li>Identifying key connectors or bottlenecks in a supply chain or communication network</li>
<li>Prioritizing which nodes to strengthen, protect, or target in a network (viral marketing, epidemiology, fraud detection)</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="how-to-apply-it">How to apply it</h2>
<ol>
<li>Define the network: who or what are the nodes, and what counts as a connection</li>
<li>Choose the centrality measure that fits the question (degree for popularity, betweenness for brokerage, closeness for reach)</li>
<li>Compute or estimate centrality and compare nodes relative to each other</li>
<li>Use the ranking to guide decisions about where to invest attention or resources</li>
</ol>
<h2 id="watch-out-for">Watch out for</h2>
<ul>
<li>Different centrality measures can rank the same node very differently — pick the one that matches the actual question</li>
<li>High centrality is not the same as high quality or trustworthiness; it only measures structural position</li>
<li>Networks change over time, so centrality snapshots can go stale</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="related-models">Related models</h2>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/brokerage-closure/">Brokerage and closure</a> — brokerage is a specific way central nodes create value by bridging gaps</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/small-world-phenomenon/">Small-world phenomenon</a> — related network property describing short path lengths between nodes</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/network-building/">Network building</a> — a practical approach to increasing one’s own centrality</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="sources">Sources</h2>
<p>Centrality measures (degree, betweenness, closeness) originate in social network analysis, with foundational work by Linton Freeman on centrality in social networks (1970s).</p>
Vulnerability2020-01-22T23:28:12+01:002020-01-22T23:28:12+01:00
Joost van der Laan
https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/vulnerability/<p>Vulnerability is the willingness to show up and be seen — sharing an idea, an emotion, or a piece of work — without controlling how it will be received.</p>
<h2 id="the-idea">The idea</h2>
<p>Popularized in a research context by Brené Brown, whose studies on shame and connection argue that vulnerability is not weakness but the birthplace of courage, creativity, and genuine connection. Avoiding vulnerability by staying guarded protects against the immediate risk of rejection, but it also blocks the trust and closeness that only forms when people risk being truly seen. The discomfort of vulnerability is the cost of admission for connection, not a sign that something has gone wrong.</p>
<h2 id="when-to-use-it">When to use it</h2>
<ul>
<li>Building trust in a relationship or team, where withholding keeps interactions shallow</li>
<li>Giving or receiving honest feedback that requires admitting uncertainty or fault</li>
<li>Sharing unfinished or imperfect creative work in order to get real input</li>
<li>Asking for help instead of pretending to have everything under control</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="how-to-apply-it">How to apply it</h2>
<ol>
<li>Notice when you are withholding something out of fear of judgment rather than genuine irrelevance.</li>
<li>Share the smaller, honest version of a thought or feeling before the guarded, polished one.</li>
<li>Treat the other person’s response, not your own comfort, as the measure of whether it was worth it.</li>
</ol>
<h2 id="watch-out-for">Watch out for</h2>
<p>Vulnerability without judgment about context or audience becomes oversharing, which can damage trust rather than build it. It also requires a baseline of psychological safety — pushing for vulnerability in an unsafe environment (e.g. one that will punish honesty) trades a real risk for little benefit.</p>
<h2 id="related-models">Related models</h2>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/giving/">Giving</a> — a related act of offering something without controlling the return.</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/curiosity/">Curiosity</a> — vulnerability often starts with the willingness to ask a question you don’t know the answer to.</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="sources">Sources</h2>
<p>Brené Brown, <em>Daring Greatly</em> (2012) and her TED talk “The Power of Vulnerability” (2010).</p>
Giving2020-01-22T23:28:03+01:002020-01-22T23:28:03+01:00
Joost van der Laan
https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/giving/<p>Giving is the practice of contributing value, help, or resources to others without demanding an immediate return, on the premise that goodwill and trust compound over time.</p>
<h2 id="the-idea">The idea</h2>
<p>Relationships and networks run partly on reciprocity: when someone gives first, the other side often feels a natural pull to reciprocate later. Being consistently generous with time, knowledge, or resources builds trust and social capital that pays off indirectly, and usually much later than the original act. Unlike a transaction, giving doesn’t specify the return in advance — which is precisely what makes it credible as a signal of goodwill rather than a trade.</p>
<h2 id="when-to-use-it">When to use it</h2>
<ul>
<li>Building a professional network or community.</li>
<li>Mentoring or sharing knowledge freely.</li>
<li>Any relationship where trust needs to compound over time rather than be settled immediately.</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="how-to-apply-it">How to apply it</h2>
<ol>
<li>Give first, without keeping score or expecting an immediate return.</li>
<li>Give in ways that cost you little but are valuable to the recipient, such as time, introductions, or knowledge.</li>
<li>Be consistent — generosity as a habit builds more trust than a single generous act.</li>
</ol>
<h2 id="watch-out-for">Watch out for</h2>
<ul>
<li>Being taken advantage of by people who only take.</li>
<li>Giving strategically purely to extract a return, which erodes trust once it is noticed.</li>
<li>Over-giving to the point of burning out your own reserves.</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="related-models">Related models</h2>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/reciprocation/">Reciprocation</a> — the psychological tendency this practice draws on.</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/kantian-fairness/">Kantian Fairness</a> — a related idea about fairness in exchanges.</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="sources">Sources</h2>
<p>Robert Cialdini’s work on the reciprocity principle of influence; Adam Grant, <em>Give and Take</em> (2013).</p>
Top of Mind2020-01-22T23:27:57+01:002020-01-22T23:27:57+01:00
Joost van der Laan
https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/top-of-mind/<p>Top of mind describes whatever comes to a person’s attention first and unprompted when a category, problem, or decision comes up — and being there shapes which options even get considered.</p>
<h2 id="the-idea">The idea</h2>
<p>People rarely evaluate every possible option before deciding; they draw from a short list of what surfaces easily in memory. Being top of mind means occupying that short list, which in practice means being considered at all, regardless of whether a fuller comparison would favor you. In marketing this is tracked as “top-of-mind awareness” — the first brand a person names, unaided, for a category — because it correlates strongly with what people actually choose.</p>
<h2 id="when-to-use-it">When to use it</h2>
<ul>
<li>Deciding where to invest limited attention or marketing effort: staying visible to the people who already know you often beats winning over people who don’t</li>
<li>Explaining why a familiar, adequate option keeps getting chosen over an objectively better but less visible one</li>
<li>Reviewing your own decisions for options you never considered simply because they weren’t top of mind</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="how-to-apply-it">How to apply it</h2>
<ol>
<li>Identify who needs to think of you (or an idea, or a solution) at the moment they need it.</li>
<li>Create repeated, low-friction touchpoints so you are what surfaces first, rather than relying on people to search.</li>
<li>When making a decision yourself, deliberately widen the list beyond whatever came to mind first.</li>
</ol>
<h2 id="watch-out-for">Watch out for</h2>
<p>What is top of mind is not the same as what is best — recency, repetition, and vividness all inflate availability without touching actual quality. Confusing the two is closely related to the availability heuristic in psychology.</p>
<h2 id="related-models">Related models</h2>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/availability-misweighing/">Availability Misweighing</a> — the cognitive bias underlying why easily recalled information gets overweighted.</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/influence-from-mere-association/">Influence From Mere Association</a> — repeated exposure shaping judgment independent of merit.</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="sources">Sources</h2>
<p>Standard marketing usage of “top-of-mind awareness”; related to the availability heuristic described by Amos Tversky and Daniel Kahneman.</p>
Metcalfes Law2020-01-22T23:27:38+01:002020-01-22T23:27:38+01:00
Joost van der Laan
https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/metcalfes-law/<p>Metcalfe’s Law states that the value of a network grows roughly with the
square of the number of connected users, because each new user can
potentially connect to every existing one.</p>
<h2 id="the-idea">The idea</h2>
<p>If a network has n users, the number of possible pairwise connections
grows proportionally to n². A phone network, a social platform, or a
marketplace becomes disproportionately more valuable as it grows, because
adding one more user doesn’t just add one more relationship — it adds a
potential connection to everyone already on the network. This is why network
effects can produce winner-take-most dynamics: a network that is twice as
large isn’t just twice as useful, it can be several times as useful.</p>
<h2 id="when-to-use-it">When to use it</h2>
<ul>
<li>Evaluating platforms, marketplaces, or communication tools where value
comes from the number of connected participants.</li>
<li>Thinking about why early users of a network product get disproportionate
value once the network scales.</li>
<li>Understanding why competing networks tend to consolidate around one or
two dominant players.</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="how-to-apply-it">How to apply it</h2>
<ol>
<li>Identify whether a product’s value genuinely comes from connections
between users, not just from the product itself.</li>
<li>When comparing two networks, weigh size heavily — a modest lead in users
can translate into a much larger lead in value.</li>
<li>Treat the n² formula as directional, not literal; not all connections
carry equal value.</li>
</ol>
<h2 id="watch-out-for">Watch out for</h2>
<ul>
<li>Not every additional user adds equal value, so real growth in value is
usually slower than a strict square law.</li>
<li>The law describes potential connections, not realized ones; a network can
have many users and still fail to generate value if they don’t connect.</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="related-models">Related models</h2>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/network-building/">Network Building</a> — the practice of
growing the connections this law describes.</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/small-world-phenomenon/">Small World Phenomenon</a> — a related
idea about how densely large networks are actually connected.</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="sources">Sources</h2>
<p>Attributed to Robert Metcalfe, co-inventor of Ethernet, who proposed the
idea in the context of network technology adoption in the 1980s.</p>
Network Building2020-01-22T23:27:21+01:002020-01-22T23:27:21+01:00
Joost van der Laan
https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/network-building/<p>Network building is the deliberate practice of investing in relationships before you need them, so
that information, opportunities, and trust are available when you do.</p>
<h2 id="the-idea">The idea</h2>
<p>Professional and social capital compounds over time. Sociologist Mark Granovetter’s research on the
“strength of weak ties” found that acquaintances — not close friends — are often the ones who bring
genuinely new information and opportunities, because they connect you to circles your close ties
already share. A network is therefore worth more for its structure — who it reaches that you
otherwise wouldn’t — than for its raw size.</p>
<h2 id="when-to-use-it">When to use it</h2>
<ul>
<li>Entering a new industry or field where you have no existing contacts</li>
<li>Job searching or looking for new opportunities</li>
<li>Needing information or context outside your immediate team or expertise</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="how-to-apply-it">How to apply it</h2>
<ul>
<li>Map who already connects you to different groups, not just who you talk to most</li>
<li>Reach out and give first; reciprocity builds trust over time</li>
<li>Maintain periodic, light-touch contact instead of only reaching out when you need something</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="watch-out-for">Watch out for</h2>
<ul>
<li>Treating relationships as purely transactional erodes the trust that makes a network useful</li>
<li>Over-investing in one tight, closed cluster leaves you exposed to an echo chamber</li>
<li>Confusing a large contact list with genuine access or trust</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="related-models">Related models</h2>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/compound-interest/">Compound Interest</a> — the compounding, delayed-payoff logic behind this practice.</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/brokerage-closure/">Brokerage & Closure</a> — the structural positions that make a network valuable.</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/small-world-phenomenon/">Small-World Phenomenon</a> — why networks reach far with only a few links.</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/reciprocation/">Reciprocation</a> — the norm that keeps network relationships mutual.</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="sources">Sources</h2>
<p>Mark Granovetter, “The Strength of Weak Ties” (<em>American Journal of Sociology</em>, 1973).</p>
Problem Definition2020-01-22T23:26:54+01:002020-01-22T23:26:54+01:00
Joost van der Laan
https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/problem-definition/<p>Problem definition is the discipline of clearly stating what the problem actually is — its scope, cause, and constraints — before spending effort on solutions.</p>
<h2 id="the-idea">The idea</h2>
<p>It’s easy to start solving the wrong problem: the one that’s most visible, most recently mentioned, or easiest to fix, rather than the one that actually matters. Careful problem definition separates symptoms from the underlying issue, states the problem in neutral terms (without presupposing a solution), and makes explicit who is affected and what “solved” would look like. A well-defined problem statement is usually specific enough that two people reading it would agree on whether a proposed fix actually addresses it.</p>
<h2 id="when-to-use-it">When to use it</h2>
<ul>
<li>At the start of any significant project, before brainstorming solutions</li>
<li>When a team is debating solutions but disagrees on what problem they’re solving</li>
<li>When a recurring issue keeps getting patched without going away</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="how-to-apply-it">How to apply it</h2>
<ol>
<li>Write the problem as an observation, not a solution (“Users abandon checkout at step 3” rather than “We need a simpler checkout form”).</li>
<li>State who is affected, how often, and what the impact is.</li>
<li>Separate the symptom from the suspected root cause.</li>
<li>Check the definition with someone close to the problem before moving to solutions.</li>
</ol>
<h2 id="watch-out-for">Watch out for</h2>
<ul>
<li>Defining the problem so narrowly that it presupposes the answer.</li>
<li>Skipping this step under time pressure and solving the wrong thing faster.</li>
<li>Letting the loudest stakeholder’s framing stand in for a checked definition.</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="related-models">Related models</h2>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/problem-framing/">Problem Framing</a> — how you frame the definition shapes which solutions seem obvious.</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/root-cause-analysis/">Root Cause Analysis</a> — digs deeper into the cause once the problem is defined.</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/problem-solving/">Problem Solving</a> — definition is the first step in the broader process.</li>
</ul>
Problem Logging2020-01-22T23:26:47+01:002020-01-22T23:26:47+01:00
Joost van der Laan
https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/problem-logging/<p>Problem logging is the habit of writing down problems the moment they surface — instead of trying to hold them in memory or fix each one in isolation — so patterns and priorities become visible over time.</p>
<h2 id="the-idea">The idea</h2>
<p>Problems that only live in someone’s memory tend to get lost, downplayed, or fixed piecemeal without anyone noticing they keep recurring. Keeping a running log — a notebook, an issue tracker, a simple list — turns scattered annoyances into a dataset: which problems repeat, which ones cluster around the same root cause, and which ones are worth fixing versus tolerating. It also separates the act of noticing a problem from the act of solving it, so a busy moment doesn’t force an immediate, half-considered fix.</p>
<h2 id="when-to-use-it">When to use it</h2>
<ul>
<li>Any time work interruptions (“this is broken”, “this is annoying”) threaten to derail focused work</li>
<li>Recurring operational issues that no one has connected to a common cause</li>
<li>Personal or team retrospectives, where a log becomes the raw material for review</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="how-to-apply-it">How to apply it</h2>
<ol>
<li>Capture the problem as soon as it’s noticed, briefly, without stopping to solve it.</li>
<li>Note when and where it happened.</li>
<li>Periodically review the log for repeats or clusters.</li>
<li>Prioritize fixes based on frequency and impact, not just recency.</li>
</ol>
<h2 id="watch-out-for">Watch out for</h2>
<ul>
<li>Letting the log become a graveyard that’s never reviewed.</li>
<li>Logging so much detail that capturing a problem becomes its own chore.</li>
<li>Using the log as a substitute for actually fixing anything.</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="related-models">Related models</h2>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/root-cause-analysis/">Root Cause Analysis</a> — a well-kept log surfaces the recurring problems worth root-causing.</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/problem-solving/">Problem Solving</a> — logging feeds the intake stage of the broader process.</li>
</ul>
Root Cause Analysis2020-01-22T23:26:14+01:002020-01-22T23:26:14+01:00
Joost van der Laan
https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/root-cause-analysis/<p>Root cause analysis (RCA) is a structured process for tracing a problem back to the underlying cause that produced it, rather than stopping at the closest visible symptom.</p>
<h2 id="the-idea">The idea</h2>
<p>RCA is a family of techniques — 5 Whys, fishbone/Ishikawa diagrams, fault tree analysis — that share the same goal: find the earliest point in a chain of events where an intervention would have prevented the problem, instead of only masking its immediate symptom. It’s typically applied after an incident, defect, or recurring failure, working backward from the observed effect toward its contributing causes.</p>
<h2 id="when-to-use-it">When to use it</h2>
<ul>
<li>A problem or defect recurs despite previous fixes</li>
<li>Post-incident reviews and postmortems</li>
<li>Manufacturing, software, and process-quality investigations where a repeat failure is costly</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="how-to-apply-it">How to apply it</h2>
<ol>
<li>Describe the problem precisely and gather the facts around it.</li>
<li>Ask “why” repeatedly (5 Whys), or map contributing factors on a fishbone diagram grouped by category (people, process, equipment, and so on).</li>
<li>Distinguish plausible causes from confirmed ones, testing before committing to a fix.</li>
<li>Address the root cause, then verify the problem stops recurring.</li>
</ol>
<h2 id="watch-out-for">Watch out for</h2>
<ul>
<li>Stopping at a proximate cause and mistaking it for the root cause</li>
<li>Treating “5 Whys” as a single linear chain when real problems often have multiple contributing causes</li>
<li>Skipping verification, so a plausible-sounding cause is never actually confirmed</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="related-models">Related models</h2>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/root-cause-vs-proximate-use/">Root Cause vs Proximate Use</a> — the core distinction root cause analysis depends on.</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/indentify-root-causes/">Indentify Root Causes</a> — the underlying principle this technique applies.</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/dmaic/">Dmaic</a> — uses root cause analysis within its Analyze phase.</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/multiple-causation/">Multiple Causation</a> — a reminder that outcomes often have more than one root cause.</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="sources">Sources</h2>
<p>The “5 Whys” technique, developed within the Toyota Production System; the Ishikawa (fishbone) diagram, developed by Kaoru Ishikawa.</p>
Problem Framing2020-01-22T23:26:01+01:002020-01-22T23:26:01+01:00
Joost van der Laan
https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/problem-framing/<p>How a problem is worded shapes which solutions come to mind — the same situation framed differently can point toward very different fixes.</p>
<h2 id="the-idea">The idea</h2>
<p>A frame is the lens a problem is described through. “How do we sell more tickets?” and “How do we get more people to attend?” describe a similar underlying goal but nudge thinking toward different solutions — discounting versus, say, changing the event format. Framing effects are well documented in decision research: identical information described in terms of gains versus losses can lead people to different choices even though the underlying numbers are the same. Deliberately trying multiple frames on the same problem — as a cost problem, a capacity problem, a trust problem — widens the set of solutions considered before committing to one.</p>
<h2 id="when-to-use-it">When to use it</h2>
<ul>
<li>When early solution attempts all feel like variations on the same idea</li>
<li>Before committing a team to a project brief or problem statement</li>
<li>When a decision seems to have an obvious “gain” framing or “loss” framing that might be skewing judgment</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="how-to-apply-it">How to apply it</h2>
<ol>
<li>Write the problem statement, then rewrite it two or three different ways (a resource problem, a people problem, a timing problem).</li>
<li>Notice which solutions each framing makes obvious versus invisible.</li>
<li>Pick the frame that best matches what actually needs to change, not just the easiest one to act on.</li>
</ol>
<h2 id="watch-out-for">Watch out for</h2>
<ul>
<li>Anchoring on the first frame offered, especially by a senior stakeholder.</li>
<li>Framing a problem in terms of a favored solution, which forecloses alternatives.</li>
<li>Reframing endlessly instead of eventually committing to one and acting.</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="related-models">Related models</h2>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/problem-definition/">Problem Definition</a> — framing shapes the definition that follows.</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/problem-solving/">Problem Solving</a> — framing is an early, high-leverage step in the process.</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="sources">Sources</h2>
<p>Framing effects in decision-making are documented in Amos Tversky and Daniel Kahneman’s prospect theory research (1979/1981).</p>
Subdividing2020-01-22T23:25:49+01:002020-01-22T23:25:49+01:00
Joost van der Laan
https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/subdividing/<p>Subdividing means breaking a large, complex problem into smaller, more manageable parts so each piece can be understood and solved on its own.</p>
<h2 id="the-idea">The idea</h2>
<p>Big problems are often too complex to hold in mind or attack all at once. Subdividing splits them into smaller sub-problems — by component, by time period, by cause, or by owner — that are each simple enough to reason about individually. Solving (or at least understanding) the pieces usually makes the whole more tractable than trying to solve it in one pass, and it also makes it easier to parallelize work or assign different parts to different people.</p>
<h2 id="when-to-use-it">When to use it</h2>
<ul>
<li>A problem or project feels too large or vague to start on directly.</li>
<li>Different parts of a problem have different causes, owners, or timelines.</li>
<li>You need to estimate or plan work that is currently one big unknown.</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="how-to-apply-it">How to apply it</h2>
<ol>
<li>State the overall problem clearly.</li>
<li>Split it into parts that are as independent of each other as possible.</li>
<li>Solve, estimate, or assign each part separately.</li>
<li>Recombine the parts and check that solving them together actually resolves the original problem.</li>
</ol>
<h2 id="watch-out-for">Watch out for</h2>
<ul>
<li>Subdividing along the wrong lines can hide dependencies between the parts, so solving each piece doesn’t add up to solving the whole.</li>
<li>Over-subdividing turns one manageable problem into many small coordination problems.</li>
<li>It addresses complexity, not ambiguity — a poorly defined problem needs <a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/problem-definition/">Problem Definition</a> first.</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="related-models">Related models</h2>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/problem-definition/">Problem Definition</a> — defining the problem before subdividing it.</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/root-cause-analysis/">Root Cause Analysis</a> — a related technique for breaking a problem down by cause.</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/chunking/">Chunking</a> — the same grouping principle applied to memory rather than problem-solving.</li>
</ul>
Simplifying2020-01-22T23:25:35+01:002020-01-22T23:25:35+01:00
Joost van der Laan
https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/simplifying/<p>Simplifying is deliberately stripping a problem, system, or explanation down to its essential parts so it becomes easier to understand and act on.</p>
<h2 id="the-idea">The idea</h2>
<p>Complexity often hides more risk and confusion than it removes. Simplifying means removing what is not essential — extra steps, options, jargon, or moving parts — until only what actually matters for the decision or task remains. This is not the same as being simplistic; a good simplification keeps the essential structure and drops only the incidental detail.</p>
<h2 id="when-to-use-it">When to use it</h2>
<ul>
<li>Explaining a complex idea to someone outside the field</li>
<li>Reducing a process or system that has accumulated unnecessary steps over time</li>
<li>Making a decision easier by cutting the number of options or variables on the table</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="how-to-apply-it">How to apply it</h2>
<ol>
<li>List every part of the current problem, process, or explanation.</li>
<li>Ask which parts are essential to the outcome and which are incidental or historical baggage.</li>
<li>Remove or combine the incidental parts.</li>
<li>Check that what remains still does the job — simplifying should not remove what matters.</li>
</ol>
<h2 id="watch-out-for">Watch out for</h2>
<ul>
<li>Simplifying away real complexity produces a version that looks clean but doesn’t work.</li>
<li>What looks unnecessary from the outside sometimes exists for a reason not immediately visible.</li>
<li>Simplification is easiest to apply to someone else’s work; apply the same scrutiny to your own.</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="related-models">Related models</h2>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/subdividing/">Subdividing</a> — breaking a problem into smaller pieces, a complementary move to simplifying.</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/chunking/">Chunking</a> — grouping detail into larger units, another way of managing complexity.</li>
</ul>
Crowdsourcing2020-01-22T23:25:26+01:002020-01-22T23:25:26+01:00
Joost van der Laan
https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/crowdsourcing/<p>Crowdsourcing obtains ideas, content, labor, or solutions by opening a task to a large, often loosely organized group of people, rather than assigning it to a single expert or small team.</p>
<h2 id="the-idea">The idea</h2>
<p>A large enough group brings a wider range of knowledge, perspectives, and effort than any individual or small team can. When the group is diverse and contributions are aggregated well, crowdsourcing can surface solutions, catch errors, or produce volume that would be slow or expensive to generate internally. It works because it trades centralized control for scale and diversity of input.</p>
<h2 id="when-to-use-it">When to use it</h2>
<ul>
<li>Generating a large volume of ideas, designs, or content options</li>
<li>Tapping specialized knowledge scattered across many people (e.g. bug bounties, open-source contributions)</li>
<li>Validating or improving a solution by exposing it to many eyes</li>
<li>Tasks that are easy to parallelize into small, independent pieces</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="how-to-apply-it">How to apply it</h2>
<ol>
<li>Break the task into units that individuals can contribute to independently.</li>
<li>Open the task to a broad, relevant group (public or a defined community).</li>
<li>Provide clear guidelines and a way to submit contributions.</li>
<li>Aggregate, filter, or vote on submissions to surface the best results.</li>
</ol>
<h2 id="watch-out-for">Watch out for</h2>
<ul>
<li>Quality varies widely; you need a filtering or curation mechanism</li>
<li>The crowd can converge on popular-but-wrong answers without independent input (see wisdom of crowds)</li>
<li>Coordination and review overhead can eat into the time saved</li>
<li>Incentives matter — unpaid or poorly incentivized crowds may not sustain effort</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="related-models">Related models</h2>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/wisdom-of-crowds/">Wisdom of Crowds</a> — the underlying principle for why aggregated independent judgments can outperform individual experts.</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/social-proof/">Social Proof</a> — explains why crowd contributions can also converge on herd behavior rather than independent judgment.</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/network-building/">Network Building</a> — a broad, open network is what makes a crowd worth tapping into in the first place.</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="sources">Sources</h2>
<p>Jeffrey Howe coined the term “crowdsourcing” in his June 2006 Wired article “The Rise of Crowdsourcing.”</p>
Problem Solving2020-01-22T23:25:13+01:002020-01-22T23:25:13+01:00
Joost van der Laan
https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/problem-solving/<p>Problem solving is the general process of moving from “something is wrong or missing” to a working solution — defining the problem, understanding its causes, generating options, and acting on the best one.</p>
<h2 id="the-idea">The idea</h2>
<p>Most problem-solving frameworks share a similar shape, however they’re branded: understand the problem before acting, look for the actual cause rather than the nearest symptom, generate more than one candidate solution, then pick, implement, and check whether it worked. Skipping straight from “problem noticed” to “solution implemented” is the most common failure mode — it tends to produce fixes that treat symptoms and problems that recur.</p>
<h2 id="when-to-use-it">When to use it</h2>
<ul>
<li>Any non-trivial problem where the first idea that comes to mind might not be the best one</li>
<li>Recurring issues that keep resurfacing despite previous fixes</li>
<li>Situations where multiple stakeholders need a shared, legible process</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="how-to-apply-it">How to apply it</h2>
<ol>
<li>Define the problem clearly and separate it from its symptoms.</li>
<li>Analyze likely causes rather than guessing at the first one.</li>
<li>Generate multiple candidate solutions before choosing.</li>
<li>Implement the chosen solution and set a way to check whether it worked.</li>
<li>Review the outcome and feed what was learned back into future problems.</li>
</ol>
<h2 id="watch-out-for">Watch out for</h2>
<ul>
<li>Jumping to a solution before the problem is properly defined.</li>
<li>Treating symptoms instead of causes, so the problem keeps returning.</li>
<li>Generating only one option and skipping comparison entirely.</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="related-models">Related models</h2>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/problem-definition/">Problem Definition</a> — the first step of this process.</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/problem-framing/">Problem Framing</a> — how the problem is worded shapes which solutions seem available.</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/root-cause-analysis/">Root Cause Analysis</a> — a focused technique for the analysis step.</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/problem-logging/">Problem Logging</a> — captures problems worth running through this process.</li>
</ul>
Falsifiability2020-01-22T23:24:50+01:002020-01-22T23:24:50+01:00
Joost van der Laan
https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/falsifiability/<p>Falsifiability is Karl Popper’s criterion for what makes a claim scientific: it must be possible, at least in principle, to design an observation or experiment that could prove it wrong.</p>
<h2 id="the-idea">The idea</h2>
<p>Popper argued that science advances not by accumulating confirmations but by exposing theories to tests that could refute them; a theory that survives repeated, genuine attempts at refutation earns more confidence, while a theory compatible with every possible outcome explains nothing. Falsifiability is therefore a demarcation criterion, separating scientific claims from unfalsifiable ones — which may still be meaningful, just not scientific in this sense.</p>
<h2 id="when-to-use-it">When to use it</h2>
<ul>
<li>Evaluating whether a claim, theory, or forecast is testable, or just unfalsifiable rhetoric</li>
<li>Designing experiments or metrics that could actually disprove your hypothesis, not just confirm it</li>
<li>Spotting pseudoscience or unfalsifiable business and investment narratives (“it will work eventually”)</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="how-to-apply-it">How to apply it</h2>
<ol>
<li>State the claim precisely enough that you can specify what evidence would prove it false.</li>
<li>Actively look for that disconfirming evidence rather than only confirming evidence.</li>
<li>Treat a theory that explains every possible outcome as a red flag, not a strength.</li>
</ol>
<h2 id="watch-out-for">Watch out for</h2>
<ul>
<li>Confusing “hard to test right now” with “unfalsifiable in principle”</li>
<li>Motivated reasoning that reframes disconfirming evidence as consistent with the theory after the fact</li>
<li>Over-applying the criterion to non-scientific domains (ethics, aesthetics) where it doesn’t straightforwardly apply</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="related-models">Related models</h2>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/scientific-method/">Scientific Method</a> — falsifiability is a core requirement within the scientific method.</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/controlled-experiment/">Controlled Experiment</a> — one practical way to expose a claim to falsification.</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="sources">Sources</h2>
<p>Karl Popper, <em>The Logic of Scientific Discovery</em> (1934/1959).</p>
Peer Review2020-01-22T23:24:36+01:002020-01-22T23:24:36+01:00
Joost van der Laan
https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/peer-review/<p>Peer review is the practice of having independent, qualified peers scrutinize a claim, method, or piece of work before it is accepted, published, or acted on.</p>
<h2 id="the-idea">The idea</h2>
<p>No individual can reliably catch every error, gap, or blind spot in their own work — peer review substitutes a single person’s judgment with the scrutiny of others who have relevant expertise but no stake in defending it. In science it is the standard gate before publication: reviewers check whether the methods are sound, conclusions follow from the evidence, and prior work is properly accounted for. The same mechanism generalizes well beyond academia to any setting where an independent check improves the reliability of a decision or piece of work.</p>
<h2 id="when-to-use-it">When to use it</h2>
<ul>
<li>Publishing research, a technical design, or any claim meant to be relied on by others</li>
<li>Making a high-stakes decision where your own reasoning could have unchecked blind spots</li>
<li>Reviewing code, writing, or analysis before it ships</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="how-to-apply-it">How to apply it</h2>
<ol>
<li>Choose reviewers with relevant expertise and no strong incentive to simply agree with you.</li>
<li>Give reviewers enough detail to actually evaluate the method or reasoning, not just the conclusion.</li>
<li>Treat disagreement from a reviewer as useful signal to investigate, not an obstacle to route around.</li>
</ol>
<h2 id="watch-out-for">Watch out for</h2>
<ul>
<li>Peer review catches errors reviewers are equipped to notice; it is not a guarantee of correctness</li>
<li>Reviewers with a shared blind spot, or a personal stake in the outcome, weaken the check</li>
<li>It can slow decisions down, so its rigor should match how costly a wrong result would be</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="related-models">Related models</h2>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/scientific-method/">Scientific Method</a> — peer review is a standard quality check within this broader process.</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/falsifiability/">Falsifiability</a> — a criterion reviewers commonly use to judge whether a claim is testable.</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/wisdom-of-crowds/">Wisdom of Crowds</a> — a related idea that independent judgments, aggregated, outperform any one of them alone.</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="sources">Sources</h2>
<p>Sociologist Robert K. Merton’s writings on the norms of science describe “organized skepticism” as the disposition peer review is meant to formalize.</p>
Controlled Placebo2020-01-22T23:24:27+01:002020-01-22T23:24:27+01:00
Joost van der Laan
https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/controlled-placebo/<p>A placebo-controlled experiment adds a group that receives an inert treatment, so any improvement from simply believing you’re being treated can be separated from the treatment’s real effect.</p>
<h2 id="the-idea">The idea</h2>
<p>People and systems often respond to the appearance of an intervention, not just its substance — this is the placebo effect. If you only compare “treated” against “untreated,” part of the measured benefit may come from expectation, attention, or ritual rather than the treatment itself. Adding a placebo group that goes through the same process minus the active ingredient isolates the treatment’s true contribution.</p>
<h2 id="when-to-use-it">When to use it</h2>
<ul>
<li>Evaluating medical treatments, supplements, or therapies</li>
<li>Testing interventions where belief or attention could itself produce an effect (motivation programs, coaching, UX changes)</li>
<li>Any case where “doing something” might outperform “doing nothing” for reasons unrelated to the something</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="how-to-apply-it">How to apply it</h2>
<ol>
<li>Design an inert version of the treatment that is indistinguishable to participants.</li>
<li>Randomly assign subjects to the real treatment or the placebo.</li>
<li>Where possible, blind both subjects and evaluators to who received which (see blinded design).</li>
<li>Compare outcomes between the two groups; the gap is the treatment’s genuine effect.</li>
</ol>
<h2 id="watch-out-for">Watch out for</h2>
<ul>
<li>A placebo isn’t always ethical or practical (e.g. withholding a known-effective treatment)</li>
<li>Placebo effects themselves can be strong and are not “nothing” — they still matter for real-world outcomes</li>
<li>A placebo without blinding doesn’t fully control for expectation bias</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="related-models">Related models</h2>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/controlled-experiment/">Controlled Experiment</a> — the general framework this model adds a placebo arm to.</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/blinded-randomized-design/">Blinded Randomized Design</a> — combines blinding with random assignment for a stronger test.</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="sources">Sources</h2>
<p>The placebo-controlled trial is a standard methodology in clinical research and biostatistics, documented in textbooks on experimental design and evidence-based medicine such as the Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions.</p>
Blinded Randomized Design2020-01-22T23:24:14+01:002020-01-22T23:24:14+01:00
Joost van der Laan
https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/blinded-randomized-design/<p>A blinded randomized design is the strongest common tool for finding out whether something actually causes an effect, by removing the two biggest sources of self-deception: unequal groups and expectation.</p>
<h2 id="the-idea">The idea</h2>
<p>Randomization assigns subjects to a treatment or control group by chance, so the groups start out statistically similar on everything else — age, motivation, prior health, and every other factor you did not think to control for. Blinding then hides who received the treatment, from the subject (single-blind) or from both subject and evaluator (double-blind), so neither hope nor expectation can bias the outcome or its measurement.</p>
<h2 id="when-to-use-it">When to use it</h2>
<ul>
<li>Testing whether an intervention (a drug, a change, a program) actually works, not just whether people believe it works.</li>
<li>Any situation prone to placebo effects or evaluator bias — medicine, but also product tests, UX changes, and policy pilots.</li>
<li>When a claim of causation is being made from an observational comparison and needs a stronger check.</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="how-to-apply-it">How to apply it</h2>
<ol>
<li>Define the outcome you are measuring before the trial starts.</li>
<li>Randomly assign participants to treatment and control.</li>
<li>Blind participants, and if possible the people assessing outcomes, to who got which condition.</li>
<li>Compare outcomes between groups using the same measurement for both.</li>
</ol>
<h2 id="watch-out-for">Watch out for</h2>
<p>Small sample sizes can still produce misleading differences even with proper randomization. Blinding is often only partial in practice (side effects can reveal the treatment), and true blinding is not always possible or ethical, especially outside medicine.</p>
<h2 id="related-models">Related models</h2>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/controlled-experiment/">Controlled Experiment</a> — the broader category of design this belongs to.</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/controlled-placebo/">Controlled Placebo</a> — the comparison condition that blinding is meant to protect.</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/scientific-method/">Scientific Method</a> — the wider process this design serves.</li>
</ul>
Scientific Method2020-01-22T23:22:55+01:002020-01-22T23:22:55+01:00
Joost van der Laan
https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/scientific-method/<p>The scientific method is the disciplined process of forming a testable hypothesis, gathering evidence to test it, and revising or discarding the hypothesis based on the result.</p>
<h2 id="the-idea">The idea</h2>
<p>Observation raises a question; a hypothesis proposes a possible explanation; predictions are derived from the hypothesis; experiments or further observation test those predictions; and the hypothesis is revised, abandoned, or provisionally accepted based on the outcome. The cycle repeats, and no hypothesis is ever finally “proven” — it only survives repeated attempts to disprove it, or it doesn’t.</p>
<h2 id="when-to-use-it">When to use it</h2>
<ul>
<li>Testing whether a belief, product change, or business assumption actually holds up</li>
<li>Separating opinion or intuition from something that has been checked against evidence</li>
<li>Designing any experiment, however informal, where you want the result to actually change your mind</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="how-to-apply-it">How to apply it</h2>
<ol>
<li>State the hypothesis precisely enough that it could be shown wrong.</li>
<li>Predict what you’d observe if the hypothesis is true, and what you’d observe if it’s false.</li>
<li>Run the experiment or gather the evidence, controlling for other explanations where possible.</li>
<li>Update the hypothesis based on the result, rather than the result based on the hypothesis.</li>
</ol>
<h2 id="watch-out-for">Watch out for</h2>
<ul>
<li>Designing experiments that can only confirm the hypothesis, never disconfirm it</li>
<li>Treating a single result as final rather than provisional</li>
<li>Letting the desired outcome bias what counts as evidence</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="related-models">Related models</h2>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/falsifiability/">Falsifiability</a> — the criterion a hypothesis must meet to be tested this way.</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/controlled-experiment/">Controlled Experiment</a> — the core tool for testing a hypothesis.</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/probabilistic-thinking/">Probabilistic Thinking</a> — most results should update confidence, not deliver certainty.</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="sources">Sources</h2>
<p>Karl Popper, <em>The Logic of Scientific Discovery</em> (1934/1959); the scientific method as generally taught in the philosophy of science.</p>
Controlled Experiment2020-01-22T23:22:07+01:002020-01-22T23:22:07+01:00
Joost van der Laan
https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/controlled-experiment/<p>A controlled experiment isolates the effect of one variable by comparing a group that receives a treatment against a control group that is identical in every other respect.</p>
<h2 id="the-idea">The idea</h2>
<p>Without a control group, you cannot tell whether an observed change was caused by your intervention or by something else entirely — the passage of time, a seasonal trend, or regression to the mean. A controlled experiment splits subjects into two (or more) groups, applies the treatment to only one, and holds everything else as constant as possible so any difference in outcome can be attributed to the treatment itself.</p>
<h2 id="when-to-use-it">When to use it</h2>
<ul>
<li>Testing whether a change (a drug, a feature, a policy) actually causes an effect</li>
<li>Separating causation from mere correlation</li>
<li>Any situation where you’re tempted to judge an intervention by before/after numbers alone</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="how-to-apply-it">How to apply it</h2>
<ol>
<li>Define a single variable to test.</li>
<li>Randomly assign subjects to treatment and control groups so the groups start out comparable.</li>
<li>Apply the treatment to one group only; keep conditions identical otherwise.</li>
<li>Measure the outcome in both groups and compare the difference.</li>
</ol>
<h2 id="watch-out-for">Watch out for</h2>
<ul>
<li>Confounding variables that differ between groups besides the one you intended to test</li>
<li>Small sample sizes that make the result unreliable</li>
<li>Selection bias in how subjects end up in each group</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="related-models">Related models</h2>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/controlled-placebo/">Controlled Placebo</a> — adds a placebo arm to control for the act of receiving treatment itself.</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/blinded-randomized-design/">Blinded Randomized Design</a> — strengthens a controlled experiment by removing expectation bias.</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/scientific-method/">Scientific Method</a> — the controlled experiment is the core tool of hypothesis testing within this broader process.</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="sources">Sources</h2>
<p>Ronald A. Fisher, “The Design of Experiments” (1935), the foundational text formalizing randomization and control groups in experimental design.</p>
Opportunity Cultivation2020-01-22T23:21:48+01:002020-01-22T23:21:48+01:00
Joost van der Laan
https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/opportunity-cultivation/<p>Opportunity cultivation is the deliberate practice of noticing an early, unproven possibility and nurturing it — through learning, relationships, or small experiments — until it is developed enough to act on.</p>
<h2 id="the-idea">The idea</h2>
<p>Most valuable opportunities do not arrive ready-made; they start as a weak signal — a small piece of information, an early relationship, an unmet need someone mentions in passing. Cultivation is the work done between spotting that signal and having something worth capitalizing on: staying close to a field, building relevant skills and relationships ahead of need, and running small, low-cost experiments that let a vague possibility take a clearer shape. It is a patient, ongoing habit rather than a single decision.</p>
<h2 id="when-to-use-it">When to use it</h2>
<ul>
<li>Building expertise or relationships in an area before you have a specific plan for them</li>
<li>Following up on a weak, uncertain signal instead of dismissing it for lacking immediate proof</li>
<li>Keeping a portfolio of small, developing possibilities rather than betting everything on one idea too early</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="how-to-apply-it">How to apply it</h2>
<ol>
<li>Stay exposed to more raw information and people than you can currently act on.</li>
<li>Run small, cheap experiments to test whether a possibility is worth developing further.</li>
<li>Revisit cultivated possibilities periodically and decide whether to keep nurturing, drop, or act on them.</li>
</ol>
<h2 id="watch-out-for">Watch out for</h2>
<ul>
<li>Cultivating too many possibilities at once dilutes the attention any one of them needs to mature</li>
<li>An opportunity can be over-cultivated — endlessly explored but never acted on</li>
<li>Conditions change; a possibility worth nurturing last year may no longer be worth pursuing today</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="related-models">Related models</h2>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/opportunity/">Opportunity</a> — the underlying concept this page develops.</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/opportunity-capitalization/">Opportunity Capitalization</a> — the follow-on step of converting a cultivated opportunity into a result.</li>
</ul>
Opportunity Capitalization2020-01-22T23:21:38+01:002020-01-22T23:21:38+01:00
Joost van der Laan
https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/opportunity-capitalization/<p>Opportunity capitalization is the act of converting a recognized opportunity into a concrete result — the step where noticing and preparation turn into decisive action.</p>
<h2 id="the-idea">The idea</h2>
<p>Recognizing an opportunity and cultivating it are not enough on their own; value is only realized once someone commits resources — time, money, attention — to act on it while it is still available. Capitalization is inherently time-bound: most opportunities have a window, and the same idea acted on early can succeed where the identical idea acted on late fails, because competitors, conditions, or interest have moved on. It requires converting an uncertain, general possibility into a specific, committed course of action.</p>
<h2 id="when-to-use-it">When to use it</h2>
<ul>
<li>An opportunity has been identified and reasonably well understood, and further delay only reduces its value</li>
<li>Deciding how much to commit — time, money, reputation — once a favorable situation is confirmed</li>
<li>Reviewing why a well-recognized opportunity was still missed, to separate a spotting failure from an execution failure</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="how-to-apply-it">How to apply it</h2>
<ol>
<li>Set a clear trigger or deadline for moving from evaluation to action, rather than evaluating indefinitely.</li>
<li>Commit resources proportional to the confidence and size of the opportunity, not the maximum available.</li>
<li>Act while the window is open, and accept that some uncertainty will remain unresolved.</li>
</ol>
<h2 id="watch-out-for">Watch out for</h2>
<ul>
<li>Over-analysis can consume the window the opportunity was open in</li>
<li>Committing too much too fast can turn a good opportunity into an overextended bet</li>
<li>Confusing activity (meetings, plans) with actual capitalization (a shipped decision or investment)</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="related-models">Related models</h2>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/opportunity/">Opportunity</a> — the underlying concept this page develops.</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/opportunity-cultivation/">Opportunity Cultivation</a> — the preceding step of developing an opportunity before acting on it.</li>
</ul>
Opportunity2020-01-22T23:21:06+01:002020-01-22T23:21:06+01:00
Joost van der Laan
https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/opportunity/<p>An opportunity is a favorable set of circumstances that makes a valued outcome newly possible, but on its own it produces nothing — it only pays off once someone notices it and acts.</p>
<h2 id="the-idea">The idea</h2>
<p>Opportunities are usually temporary and partial: a gap in a market, a new technology, a relationship, a piece of information others have not yet used. They rarely arrive labeled as such, and they rarely stay open indefinitely — most close, get taken by someone else, or lose their value as conditions change. Treating “opportunity” as a mental model means separating two distinct skills: spotting a favorable situation early, and converting it into a result before it disappears.</p>
<h2 id="when-to-use-it">When to use it</h2>
<ul>
<li>Scanning a market, project, or relationship for an early, unproven advantage</li>
<li>Deciding whether a chance in front of you is worth pursuing at all</li>
<li>Reviewing past decisions to see whether an opportunity was missed, wasted, or acted on too late</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="watch-out-for">Watch out for</h2>
<ul>
<li>Not every possibility is a real opportunity; some look attractive but cost more than they return</li>
<li>Waiting for certainty often means the opportunity is gone by the time you act</li>
<li>Chasing every opportunity spreads effort too thin to capitalize on the ones that matter most</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="related-models">Related models</h2>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/opportunity-cultivation/">Opportunity Cultivation</a> — deliberately noticing and developing opportunities before they are ready to act on.</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/opportunity-capitalization/">Opportunity Capitalization</a> — converting a recognized opportunity into a concrete result.</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/first-things-first/">First Things First</a> — deciding which opportunities deserve attention before others.</li>
</ul>
1000x Knowledge2020-01-22T23:20:29+01:002020-01-22T23:20:29+01:00
Joost van der Laan
https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/1000x-knowledge/<p>Most knowledge pays off in rough proportion to the effort you put in. A small subset pays off far out of proportion, because it can be combined with leverage — code, media, capital, or a network — that multiplies one person’s effort well beyond their own hours.</p>
<h2 id="the-idea">The idea</h2>
<p>Ordinary knowledge tends to scale linearly: knowing more, or working harder, gets you roughly proportionate results. 1000x knowledge is different — it’s the kind of skill or insight that, once combined with a leverage point, can reach or influence far more than your own direct effort could. Writing, software, and investable capital are classic examples of leverage: they let one person’s work be reproduced or compounded without a matching increase in their own hours. The internet removed many of the old gatekeepers that used to cap how far a single person’s knowledge could travel, which is part of why disproportionate outcomes are more common now than a generation ago.</p>
<h2 id="when-to-use-it">When to use it</h2>
<ul>
<li>Deciding where to invest years of learning, not just the next sprint.</li>
<li>Weighing a skill that scales (writing, code, teaching) against one that doesn’t (pure hourly labor).</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="how-to-apply-it">How to apply it</h2>
<ol>
<li>Ask whether a skill you’re building can be attached to a leverage point later (publishing, automation, capital).</li>
<li>Favor knowledge that compounds — it keeps paying out after the learning is done.</li>
<li>Pair the knowledge with a way to distribute or reproduce its output cheaply.</li>
</ol>
<h2 id="watch-out-for">Watch out for</h2>
<ul>
<li>Chasing “leverage” as a shortcut without first building real, specific knowledge underneath it.</li>
<li>Survivorship bias: most attempts at outsized leverage don’t produce outsized results.</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="related-models">Related models</h2>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/compound-interest/">Compound interest</a> — the same non-linear payoff, applied to money instead of skill.</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/deliberate-practice/">Deliberate practice</a> — how the underlying specific knowledge actually gets built.</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/learning-how-to-learn/">Learning how to learn</a> — the meta-skill that speeds up acquiring it.</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="sources">Sources</h2>
<p>Naval Ravikant, “How to Get Rich (Without Getting Lucky)” — public essay and tweetstorm on specific knowledge and leverage.
</content>
</invoke></p>
Forgetting Curve Spaced Repetition2020-01-22T23:20:09+01:002020-01-22T23:20:09+01:00
Joost van der Laan
https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/forgetting-curve-spaced-repetition/<p>The forgetting curve describes how newly learned information fades over time unless it is reactivated; spaced repetition is the countermeasure of reviewing material at increasing intervals to keep it in long-term memory.</p>
<h2 id="the-idea">The idea</h2>
<p>Hermann Ebbinghaus’s memory experiments showed retention drops steeply soon after learning and then levels off. Each review flattens the curve and pushes the next point of significant forgetting further out, which is why spaced review is more efficient for long-term retention than repeating material in one sitting (massed practice, i.e. cramming). The trick is timing: reviewing too early wastes effort on something you still remember, while reviewing too late means you’ve already lost it and have to relearn it from scratch.</p>
<h2 id="when-to-use-it">When to use it</h2>
<ul>
<li>Studying for an exam or learning material you need to retain for months.</li>
<li>Onboarding or training content that needs to stick beyond the session.</li>
<li>Any memorization task: vocabulary, facts, procedures.</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="how-to-apply-it">How to apply it</h2>
<ol>
<li>Review new material shortly after first learning it.</li>
<li>Space out subsequent reviews further apart each time.</li>
<li>Use a spaced-repetition system (flashcard app or similar) to schedule reviews automatically.</li>
<li>Prioritize reviewing items you are close to forgetting over ones you already know well.</li>
</ol>
<h2 id="watch-out-for">Watch out for</h2>
<ul>
<li>Passive re-reading is much weaker than active recall (testing yourself).</li>
<li>Cramming feels productive short-term but decays fast.</li>
<li>Review queues can pile up without a system that adjusts intervals per item.</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="related-models">Related models</h2>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/learning-how-to-learn/">Learning How to Learn</a> — the broader skill this technique supports.</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/deliberate-practice/">Deliberate Practice</a> — structured practice that pairs well with spaced review.</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/chunking/">Chunking</a> — breaking material into units that are easier to encode and recall.</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="sources">Sources</h2>
<p>Hermann Ebbinghaus, <em>Über das Gedächtnis</em> (1885); spaced repetition popularized by systems such as SuperMemo and Anki.</p>
Elaborative Interrogation2020-01-22T23:19:48+01:002020-01-22T23:19:48+01:00
Joost van der Laan
https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/elaborative-interrogation/<p>Elaborative interrogation is a study technique where you generate an explanation for why a fact is true, rather than just reading or repeating it.</p>
<h2 id="the-idea">The idea</h2>
<p>Instead of passively re-reading “the mitochondria produces energy for the cell,” you ask “why would that be true?” and try to answer it from what you already know. Generating your own explanation forces you to connect new information to existing knowledge, which creates more and stronger retrieval paths in memory than passive review does. It works especially well for factual material that has clear underlying reasons, and less well for material that is arbitrary or that you have too little background knowledge to explain.</p>
<h2 id="when-to-use-it">When to use it</h2>
<ul>
<li>Studying discrete facts, definitions, or claims (history dates, science facts, vocabulary).</li>
<li>Reviewing notes where you catch yourself just re-reading without engaging.</li>
<li>Any material where you already have enough background knowledge to attempt an explanation.</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="how-to-apply-it">How to apply it</h2>
<ol>
<li>Take a fact and ask yourself “why is this true?” or “why would this make sense?”</li>
<li>Try to answer without looking it up first.</li>
<li>Check your explanation against the source material and correct it.</li>
<li>Repeat across the material you’re studying rather than passively re-reading it.</li>
</ol>
<h2 id="watch-out-for">Watch out for</h2>
<p>It’s less effective on material with little underlying logic (arbitrary facts, unfamiliar domains) since there’s nothing to explain from. It also takes more time per fact than re-reading, so it suits depth over breadth.</p>
<h2 id="related-models">Related models</h2>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/learning-how-to-learn/">Learning How To Learn</a> — the broader set of techniques this belongs to.</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/forgetting-curve-spaced-repetition/">Forgetting Curve Spaced Repetition</a> — a complementary technique for retention over time.</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/metacognition/">Metacognition</a> — the reflective awareness that elaborative interrogation exercises.</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="sources">Sources</h2>
<p>Studied extensively in cognitive and educational psychology; summarized in Dunlosky et al., “Improving Students’ Learning With Effective Learning Techniques” (<em>Psychological Science in the Public Interest</em>, 2013).</p>
Chunking2020-01-22T23:19:31+01:002020-01-22T23:19:31+01:00
Joost van der Laan
https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/chunking/<p>Chunking is grouping individual pieces of information into larger, meaningful units so the mind can hold and process more at once.</p>
<h2 id="the-idea">The idea</h2>
<p>Working memory can only hold a handful of independent items at a time. Chunking works around this limit by combining related pieces of information — letters into words, digits into a phone number, individual chess pieces into a recognized pattern — so that what was many items becomes one. The classic reference point is psychologist George Miller’s observation that people can hold roughly seven (plus or minus two) items in working memory; chunking increases the effective amount of information within that same slot by increasing the size of each item rather than the number of slots.</p>
<h2 id="when-to-use-it">When to use it</h2>
<ul>
<li>Memorizing lists, numbers, or sequences, such as splitting a phone number into groups</li>
<li>Learning a new skill or domain, where experts recognize larger meaningful patterns that novices see as separate details</li>
<li>Simplifying complex information for presentations, documentation, or teaching</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="how-to-apply-it">How to apply it</h2>
<ol>
<li>Identify the raw items that need to be held or communicated</li>
<li>Look for a natural grouping — by category, sequence, rhyme, or meaning</li>
<li>Practice recalling the chunks as single units rather than their parts</li>
<li>As familiarity grows, combine chunks into still larger chunks, a hallmark of expertise</li>
</ol>
<h2 id="watch-out-for">Watch out for</h2>
<ul>
<li>Chunking imposed artificially (grouping unrelated items) is much less effective than chunking that follows real structure</li>
<li>Relying on chunking alone doesn’t replace deeper understanding of why items relate</li>
<li>Chunks that make sense to the creator may not transfer to someone without the same background knowledge</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="related-models">Related models</h2>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/working-memory/">Working memory</a> — the capacity limit that chunking helps work around</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/learning-how-to-learn/">Learning how to learn</a> — chunking is one of the core techniques for effective learning</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/forgetting-curve-spaced-repetition/">Forgetting curve / spaced repetition</a> — a complementary technique for retaining chunked information over time</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="sources">Sources</h2>
<p>George A. Miller, “The Magical Number Seven, Plus or Minus Two” (1956), Psychological Review — the foundational paper on chunking and working memory capacity.</p>
Deliberate Practice2020-01-22T23:19:20+01:002020-01-22T23:19:20+01:00
Joost van der Laan
https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/deliberate-practice/<p>Deliberate practice is a highly structured form of practice, designed to improve a specific skill through focused effort and immediate feedback, rather than mindless repetition.</p>
<h2 id="the-idea">The idea</h2>
<p>The concept was developed by psychologist Anders Ericsson, whose research into expert performance (chess players, musicians, athletes) found that experts don’t simply accumulate hours — they engage in effortful, targeted practice aimed squarely at the edge of their current ability. Ordinary repetition (like playing more games of chess) produces far smaller gains than practice designed around weaknesses and corrected with feedback.</p>
<p>A core part of Ericsson’s account is that experts build rich <strong>mental representations</strong> of their domain: patterns and structures that let them recognize situations and respond faster than novices. Deliberate practice is what builds those representations.</p>
<h2 id="when-to-use-it">When to use it</h2>
<ul>
<li>Learning a skill with established expert techniques and coaches to draw on</li>
<li>Progress has plateaued despite putting in hours of ordinary repetition</li>
<li>Preparing for high-stakes performance where marginal gains matter</li>
<li>You have access to fast, concrete feedback on each attempt</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="how-to-apply-it">How to apply it</h2>
<ol>
<li>Break the skill into specific sub-components.</li>
<li>Set a target just beyond your current ability for each session.</li>
<li>Practice with full concentration, not on autopilot.</li>
<li>Get immediate feedback, ideally from a coach or measurable outcome.</li>
<li>Repeat, adjusting the target as you improve.</li>
</ol>
<h2 id="watch-out-for">Watch out for</h2>
<ul>
<li>Hours logged are not the same as deliberate practice — casual repetition without feedback plateaus quickly.</li>
<li>It requires sustained focus and is mentally taxing, which limits how long a session can last.</li>
<li>It works best in domains with clear feedback loops and established expert techniques to learn from; it’s harder to apply where feedback is slow or ambiguous.</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="related-models">Related models</h2>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/decision-making-on-short-medium-and-long-term/">Decision Making on short, medium and long term</a> — closes with an Ericsson quote on mental representations.</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/forgetting-curve-spaced-repetition/">Forgetting Curve / Spaced Repetition</a> — another model for how deliberate effort builds durable skill and memory.</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="sources">Sources</h2>
<p>Anders Ericsson’s research on expert performance, popularized in <em>Peak: Secrets from the New Science of Expertise</em>, co-authored with Robert Pool.</p>
Working Memory2020-01-22T23:19:02+01:002020-01-22T23:19:02+01:00
Joost van der Laan
https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/working-memory/<p>Working memory is the small, temporary mental workspace you use to hold and manipulate information while thinking, reading, or solving a problem.</p>
<h2 id="the-idea">The idea</h2>
<p>Unlike long-term memory, working memory holds only a handful of items at once and loses them quickly unless they’re rehearsed or acted on. It’s the system that lets you keep a phone number in mind while dialing, follow the thread of an argument, or do mental arithmetic. Its capacity is small and easily overloaded, which is why complex tasks feel harder when you’re interrupted or juggling too many things at once.</p>
<h2 id="when-to-use-it">When to use it</h2>
<ul>
<li>Designing instructions, forms, or interfaces so people aren’t asked to hold too much in mind at once.</li>
<li>Explaining something complex — breaking it into smaller pieces instead of one dense block.</li>
<li>Noticing when your own thinking feels overloaded during a task that requires focus.</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="how-to-apply-it">How to apply it</h2>
<ol>
<li>Reduce simultaneous demands: write things down instead of holding them in mind.</li>
<li>Break information into small groups (see chunking) rather than long unbroken lists.</li>
<li>Remove distractions and interruptions during tasks that need sustained mental manipulation, since working memory is easily displaced.</li>
<li>Use external aids (checklists, notes, diagrams) to offload steps you’d otherwise have to keep active mentally.</li>
</ol>
<h2 id="watch-out-for">Watch out for</h2>
<ul>
<li>Overloading working memory leads to forgotten steps and mistakes, not just slower thinking.</li>
<li>Multitasking taxes working memory more than it feels like it does, degrading performance on all tasks involved.</li>
<li>Capacity varies by person and by fatigue, stress, and age — don’t assume a fixed limit applies to everyone.</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="related-models">Related models</h2>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/chunking/">Chunking</a> — grouping information into larger units is a direct way to work around working memory’s limits.</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/metacognition/">Metacognition</a> — noticing when working memory is overloaded is itself a metacognitive skill.</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="sources">Sources</h2>
<p>Foundational work on working memory includes Alan Baddeley and Graham Hitch’s multi-component model of working memory.</p>
Learning How to Learn2020-01-22T23:17:29+01:002020-01-22T23:17:29+01:00
Joost van der Laan
https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/learning-how-to-learn/<p>Learning how to learn is the study of metacognition: understanding which study techniques actually build durable knowledge, as opposed to techniques that only feel productive.</p>
<h2 id="the-idea">The idea</h2>
<ul>
<li>Focused mode versus diffuse mode thinking: alternating concentrated effort with rest lets the mind consolidate what it studied</li>
<li>Retrieval practice (testing yourself) builds stronger memory than rereading</li>
<li>Spaced repetition beats cramming for long-term retention</li>
<li>Interleaving different problem types builds more flexible skill than blocking practice by type</li>
<li>Chunking combines a practiced skill into one fluid mental unit that frees up working memory</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="when-to-use-it">When to use it</h2>
<ul>
<li>Picking up a new technical skill, language, or subject</li>
<li>Preparing for exams or anything that needs long-term retention</li>
<li>Teaching or coaching others</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="how-to-apply-it">How to apply it</h2>
<ol>
<li>Test yourself before you feel ready, rather than rereading notes</li>
<li>Space reviews out over days and weeks instead of massing them together</li>
<li>Mix problem types instead of practicing one type at a time</li>
<li>Practice a skill until it becomes a single fluid chunk, then combine chunks into larger routines</li>
<li>Alternate focused study sessions with rest so the diffuse mode can do its work</li>
</ol>
<h2 id="watch-out-for">Watch out for</h2>
<ul>
<li>Mistaking familiarity (rereading, highlighting) for real mastery</li>
<li>Overloading working memory instead of building chunks</li>
<li>Cramming, which produces short-term recognition but weak long-term retention</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="related-models">Related models</h2>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/metacognition/">Metacognition</a> — the broader capacity this model draws on</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/deliberate-practice/">Deliberate Practice</a> — the practice structure that produces skill, not just knowledge</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/forgetting-curve-spaced-repetition/">Forgetting Curve / Spaced Repetition</a> — the timing mechanism behind durable retention</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/chunking/">Chunking</a> — how the mind compresses learned patterns</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/working-memory/">Working Memory</a> — the bottleneck these techniques work around</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="sources">Sources</h2>
<p>Barbara Oakley and Terrence Sejnowski, “Learning How to Learn” (Coursera); Barbara Oakley, “A Mind for Numbers” (2014).</p>
Metacognition2020-01-22T23:16:21+01:002020-01-22T23:16:21+01:00
Joost van der Laan
https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/metacognition/<p>Metacognition is awareness and understanding of your own thought process —
stepping back to ask “how am I thinking about this, and is it working?”
rather than staying absorbed in the thinking itself.</p>
<h2 id="the-idea">The idea</h2>
<p>Metacognition operates one level above ordinary cognition. It has two main
parts: knowledge about your own cognitive processes (knowing what you’re
good at, what strategies you tend to use) and regulation of those processes
(planning an approach, monitoring progress, and adjusting when something
isn’t working). It’s the difference between simply reading a chapter and
noticing, midway through, that you aren’t actually retaining anything and
switching strategy.</p>
<h2 id="when-to-use-it">When to use it</h2>
<ul>
<li>Learning a new skill or subject, to check whether your study method is
actually working.</li>
<li>Making a difficult decision, to notice which biases or assumptions might
be shaping your judgment.</li>
<li>Solving a hard problem, to recognize when the current approach has
stalled and a different one is needed.</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="how-to-apply-it">How to apply it</h2>
<ol>
<li>Before starting a task, plan your approach and predict how it will go.</li>
<li>While working, periodically check: is this working, and how do I know?</li>
<li>Afterward, review what worked and what didn’t, and note it for next time.</li>
</ol>
<h2 id="watch-out-for">Watch out for</h2>
<ul>
<li>Overthinking to the point of paralysis; metacognition should inform
action, not replace it.</li>
<li>Confusing confidence in your thinking with accuracy — metacognitive
judgments can themselves be wrong.</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="related-models">Related models</h2>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/learning-how-to-learn/">Learning How to Learn</a> — applies
metacognition specifically to study and skill acquisition.</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/chunking/">Chunking</a> — a technique metacognitive awareness
can help you recognize you need.</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/working-memory/">Working Memory</a> — one of the cognitive
limits metacognition helps you work around.</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="sources">Sources</h2>
<p>The term was popularized by developmental psychologist John H. Flavell in
the 1970s.</p>
Technium2020-01-22T23:15:18+01:002020-01-22T23:15:18+01:00
Joost van der Laan
https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/technium/<p>The technium is Kevin Kelly’s term for the whole interconnected system of technology — every tool, technique, and institution built on top of technology — treated as a single, self-organizing system rather than a pile of separate inventions.</p>
<h2 id="the-idea">The idea</h2>
<p>Kelly argued that once enough technologies accumulate and connect, they start behaving like an organism or ecosystem of their own: it develops momentum, generates its own new needs, and evolves in somewhat predictable directions, largely independent of any one inventor’s intentions. Individual technologies still matter, but the technium’s broad trajectory — more complexity, more connection, more options — is treated as a persistent, evolution-like force that shapes what inventions become possible and useful next.</p>
<h2 id="when-to-use-it">When to use it</h2>
<ul>
<li>Thinking about technological change as a system with its own momentum, not a series of isolated breakthroughs.</li>
<li>Asking whether a given invention was close to inevitable given the state of surrounding technology, rather than a one-off act of genius.</li>
<li>Reasoning about long-run technology trends (automation, connectivity, AI) as part of a larger pattern.</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="how-to-apply-it">How to apply it</h2>
<ol>
<li>When evaluating a new technology, ask what surrounding technologies made it possible now rather than earlier.</li>
<li>Look for the broader trend it’s part of, not just the standalone invention.</li>
<li>Expect technologies to keep recombining and generating new technologies, similar to how species evolve within an ecosystem.</li>
</ol>
<h2 id="watch-out-for">Watch out for</h2>
<ul>
<li>Treating the technium as literally alive or intentional can overstate how deterministic technological change really is.</li>
<li>It’s a framing device for thinking about trends, not a predictive model with precise outputs.</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="related-models">Related models</h2>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/evolution/">Evolution</a> — the biological analogy Kelly’s framing is explicitly built on.</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/moores-law/">Moores Law</a> — a concrete, measurable trend often cited as evidence of the technium’s momentum.</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/feedback-loop/">Feedback Loop</a> — technologies reinforcing and enabling further technologies is a feedback structure.</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="sources">Sources</h2>
<p>Kevin Kelly, <em>What Technology Wants</em> (2010).</p>
Evolution2020-01-22T23:15:06+01:002020-01-22T23:15:06+01:00
Joost van der Laan
https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/evolution/<p>Evolution by natural selection is the process by which traits that improve reproductive success become more common in a population over generations — a foundational model for thinking about any system with variation, selection, and retention.</p>
<h2 id="the-idea">The idea</h2>
<p>Three ingredients — variation, selection, and heredity (retention) — are enough to produce evolution in any system, biological or not: units (organisms, ideas, products, strategies) vary; some variants survive or replicate better in a given environment; and the traits behind that success get passed on. Repeated over many cycles, this simple mechanism produces enormous complexity without requiring foresight or design.</p>
<h2 id="when-to-use-it">When to use it</h2>
<ul>
<li>Explaining why markets, cultures, or organizations change over time even without central planning</li>
<li>Reasoning about why “good enough for the current environment” beats “theoretically optimal” once the environment shifts</li>
<li>Understanding path dependence: today’s traits reflect past selection pressures, not a fresh design</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="how-to-apply-it">How to apply it</h2>
<ol>
<li>Identify the unit that varies (products, habits, employees, code).</li>
<li>Identify what “selection pressure” rewards or removes variants.</li>
<li>Expect gradual, cumulative change driven by many small selection events, not one grand redesign.</li>
</ol>
<h2 id="watch-out-for">Watch out for</h2>
<ul>
<li>Assuming evolution optimizes for anything beyond short-term reproductive or competitive success — it does not aim at long-term good</li>
<li>Mistaking survival for “best”; a trait can persist because the environment favors it, not because it is superior in an absolute sense</li>
<li>Applying the analogy too literally outside biology, where the mechanisms of variation and selection differ</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="related-models">Related models</h2>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/second-order-effect/">Second-Order Effect</a> — evolutionary change often shows up in second- and third-order consequences.</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/compound-interest/">Compound Interest</a> — small repeated advantages compound over time, as in evolution.</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="sources">Sources</h2>
<p>Charles Darwin, <em>On the Origin of Species</em> (1859).</p>
Moores Law2020-01-22T23:14:50+01:002020-01-22T23:14:50+01:00
Joost van der Laan
https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/moores-law/<p>Moore’s Law is the observation that the number of transistors on an
integrated circuit roughly doubles every two years, which has made
computing power grow exponentially for decades.</p>
<h2 id="the-idea">The idea</h2>
<p>Gordon Moore, who later co-founded Intel in 1968, observed in 1965 while
at Fairchild Semiconductor that the density of transistors on a chip was
doubling at a regular pace, and predicted the trend would continue. It
held for decades and became a self-fulfilling target the semiconductor
industry organized its roadmaps around. The broader lesson beyond chips
is that some underlying capabilities improve exponentially rather than
linearly, and exponential trends are easy to underestimate early on and
easy to take for granted once they’re familiar.</p>
<h2 id="when-to-use-it">When to use it</h2>
<ul>
<li>Forecasting the trajectory of a technology that has historically shown
exponential improvement.</li>
<li>Reminding yourself that a slow-seeming trend today can compound into a
large capability gap over a decade.</li>
<li>Explaining why compute-hungry applications (graphics, AI, simulation)
that seemed impractical years ago later became routine.</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="how-to-apply-it">How to apply it</h2>
<ol>
<li>Check whether a trend’s growth is genuinely exponential (roughly
constant doubling time) rather than merely fast-linear.</li>
<li>Project forward using the doubling time rather than a straight-line
extrapolation from recent progress.</li>
<li>Recognize physical or economic limits that could slow or end the trend,
rather than assuming it continues indefinitely.</li>
</ol>
<h2 id="watch-out-for">Watch out for</h2>
<ul>
<li>Moore’s Law is an empirical, industry-driven pattern, not a law of
physics; transistor scaling has slowed in recent years as physical limits
are approached.</li>
<li>Exponential-growth intuitions from one technology don’t automatically
transfer to another.</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="related-models">Related models</h2>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/compound-interest/">Compound Interest</a> — the same
accelerating-growth shape applied to money, skill, or knowledge.</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/technium/">Technium</a> — the broader idea of technology as a
self-reinforcing, evolving system.</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="sources">Sources</h2>
<p>Gordon E. Moore, “Cramming More Components onto Integrated Circuits”
(1965), Electronics Magazine.</p>
Meta Tool Usage and Creation2020-01-22T23:12:05+01:002020-01-22T23:12:05+01:00
Joost van der Laan
https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/meta-tool-usage-and-creation/<p>A tool solves a problem once. A meta-tool — a tool for making tools — solves
a whole class of future problems, because every tool it helps you build
inherits the leverage. Meta tool usage and creation is the practice of
noticing when you’re about to build a one-off solution and asking whether
building the thing that builds the solution is worth the extra investment.</p>
<h2 id="the-idea">The idea</h2>
<p>Most useful capability is layered: a hammer is a tool, but a forge that
makes hammers is a meta-tool, and a factory that makes forges is one level
higher still. Each layer takes more upfront effort but pays off across every
future use. The same pattern shows up in software (a script vs. a code
generator vs. a framework), in organizations (a process vs. a process for
designing processes), and in personal skill-building (learning a fact vs.
learning how to learn).</p>
<h2 id="when-to-use-it">When to use it</h2>
<ul>
<li>You notice you’re solving the same kind of problem repeatedly by hand.</li>
<li>The cost of building a reusable tool is small relative to how often it
will be reused.</li>
<li>You’re building for a team or a future version of yourself, not just for
today’s task.</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="how-to-apply-it">How to apply it</h2>
<ol>
<li>Before solving a problem directly, ask whether a slightly more general
version of the solution would cover future variants too.</li>
<li>Estimate the break-even point: how many future uses justify the extra
time spent making the tool reusable.</li>
<li>Build the minimal meta-tool, use it once yourself, then refine it based
on that use before generalizing further.</li>
</ol>
<h2 id="watch-out-for">Watch out for</h2>
<ul>
<li>Over-engineering a meta-tool for a problem that only ever occurs once.</li>
<li>Meta-tools that are harder to learn than the problems they solve.</li>
<li>Investing in tool-building as procrastination on the actual task.</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="related-models">Related models</h2>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/technium/">Technium</a> — the self-reinforcing system of
technology building on technology.</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/compound-interest/">Compound Interest</a> — the same
leverage-over-time logic that makes meta-tools pay off.</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/learning-how-to-learn/">Learning How to Learn</a> — the
personal-skill equivalent of meta-tool creation.</li>
</ul>
Prioritization 80/20 Pareto2020-01-22T23:12:05+01:002020-01-22T23:12:05+01:00
Joost van der Laan
https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/prioritization-8020-pareto/<p>The Pareto Principle, or 80/20 rule, observes that a small share of causes tends to produce the majority of results — so effort spent finding and focusing on that vital few pays off far more than spreading effort evenly.</p>
<h2 id="the-idea">The idea</h2>
<p>Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto noticed in the late 1800s that about 80% of the land in Italy was owned by around 20% of the population. The ratio isn’t a strict law — it’s a recurring pattern observed across many domains: a minority of customers often generate most of a company’s revenue, a minority of bugs cause most crashes, a minority of tasks drive most of the value of a day’s work. The exact split varies, but the underlying shape — a few inputs dominating the outcome — shows up repeatedly.</p>
<h2 id="when-to-use-it">When to use it</h2>
<ul>
<li>Deciding which tasks, customers, or features to prioritize with limited time</li>
<li>Diagnosing where most defects, complaints, or costs originate</li>
<li>Cutting a long list down to what actually matters</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="how-to-apply-it">How to apply it</h2>
<ol>
<li>List the inputs (tasks, products, causes) and the outcome you care about.</li>
<li>Rank them by contribution to that outcome.</li>
<li>Identify the small subset responsible for most of the result.</li>
<li>Concentrate effort there first; treat the rest as lower priority.</li>
</ol>
<h2 id="watch-out-for">Watch out for</h2>
<ul>
<li>Treating “80/20” as an exact number rather than a rough heuristic.</li>
<li>Ignoring the long tail entirely — some of it can still matter.</li>
<li>Using it to justify cutting corners on quality or ethics in the name of “efficiency”.</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="related-models">Related models</h2>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/root-cause-analysis/">Root Cause Analysis</a> — both narrow a large set of possibilities down to what matters most.</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/ice-framework/">ICE Framework</a> — a scoring method for the same prioritization problem.</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/problem-solving/">Problem Solving</a> — Pareto thinking helps decide which problems to tackle first.</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="sources">Sources</h2>
<p>Vilfredo Pareto’s original observations on income and land distribution in <em>Cours d’économie politique</em> (1896); popularized as a general management heuristic by Joseph Juran.</p>
Creativity Imagination2020-01-22T23:10:56+01:002020-01-22T23:10:56+01:00
Joost van der Laan
https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/creativity-imagination/<p>Creativity and imagination are the capacity to combine existing ideas, experiences, and knowledge into something new, and to mentally picture possibilities that don’t yet exist.</p>
<h2 id="the-idea">The idea</h2>
<p>Creativity is rarely conjuring something from nothing — it’s usually recombination: taking concepts from different domains and connecting them in a way no one has connected before. Imagination is the underlying capability that lets you simulate scenarios, outcomes, and objects mentally before they exist in reality. Together they let you generate options that pure analysis of “what already is” would never surface.</p>
<h2 id="when-to-use-it">When to use it</h2>
<ul>
<li>Generating options before narrowing down with analysis or judgment</li>
<li>Solving problems where existing approaches have plateaued</li>
<li>Designing products, strategies, or content that need to stand out</li>
<li>Imagining future scenarios to plan for them (contingency thinking)</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="how-to-apply-it">How to apply it</h2>
<ol>
<li>Deliberately expose yourself to ideas from unrelated fields — reading, conversations, other industries.</li>
<li>Separate idea generation from idea evaluation; judging too early kills weak-but-promising ideas.</li>
<li>Use analogy: ask “what is this problem like in a different domain?”</li>
<li>Prototype or sketch imagined possibilities quickly to test them against reality.</li>
</ol>
<h2 id="watch-out-for">Watch out for</h2>
<ul>
<li>Confusing quantity of ideas with quality — generation still needs a filtering step</li>
<li>Evaluating ideas too early, which suppresses unconventional ones</li>
<li>Mistaking familiarity for creativity (recombining only within one domain)</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="related-models">Related models</h2>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/curiosity/">Curiosity</a> — the drive to explore that feeds creative recombination with raw material.</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/first-principles/">First Principles</a> — a complementary approach that strips assumptions away rather than recombining them.</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="sources">Sources</h2>
<p>Margaret Boden, “The Creative Mind: Myths and Mechanisms” (1990), a foundational cognitive-science account of creativity as combination and exploration of existing conceptual spaces.</p>
Regret Minimization2020-01-22T23:10:39+01:002020-01-22T23:10:39+01:00
Joost van der Laan
https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/regret-minimization/<p>Regret minimization is a decision-making strategy that focuses on reducing future regret. It involves anticipating how much regret a poor decision might cause and choosing the option that would minimize that feeling. This approach helps individuals evaluate their choices based on the emotional impact of potential outcomes, not just the outcomes themselves.</p>
<h2 id="the-idea">The idea</h2>
<p>Jeff Bezos popularized this concept with his “Regret Minimization Framework,” which he used to decide whether to leave his job to start Amazon. By projecting himself to age 80, he considered which decision he would regret less: staying in his job or pursuing his entrepreneurial dream. This helped him choose the path with less potential regret, emphasizing long-term satisfaction over short-term risk.</p>
<h2 id="when-to-use-it">When to use it</h2>
<p>Regret minimization can be applied to various life decisions, from careers to personal relationships. It encourages forward-thinking and prioritizes actions that align with long-term happiness. By focusing on minimizing future regret, individuals can make more confident and fulfilling decisions, leading to a life with fewer “what ifs” and more contentment.</p>
<h2 id="related-models">Related models</h2>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/barbell-strategy-nicholas-nassim-taleb/">Barbell Strategy - Nicholas Nassim Taleb</a> — another framework for deciding how much risk to take on.</li>
</ul>
10x Understanding Yourself Others2020-01-22T22:58:40+01:002020-01-22T22:58:40+01:00
Joost van der Laan
https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/10x-understanding-yourself-others/<p>10x growth for a person doesn’t come from doing everything better — it comes from doing less, but doing the few things you’re uniquely good at. That requires knowing yourself well enough to name those things, and knowing others well enough to hand off everything else.</p>
<h2 id="the-idea">The idea</h2>
<p>Self-knowledge here isn’t introspection for its own sake; it’s a practical filter. If you can clearly name what you do that’s rare and valuable — your unique ability — you can stop spending time on everything else. But dropping that other work only works if you understand the people around you well enough to know who genuinely does it better, and can hand it off with confidence rather than just delegating blindly. Growth compounds when both halves are in place: sharper self-understanding narrows your focus, and sharper understanding of others makes the handoff actually work.</p>
<h2 id="when-to-use-it">When to use it</h2>
<ul>
<li>Reviewing your role or responsibilities and deciding what to keep doing yourself.</li>
<li>Building or restructuring a team around people’s real strengths.</li>
<li>Feeling stretched thin across too many kinds of work.</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="how-to-apply-it">How to apply it</h2>
<ol>
<li>List what you currently do; mark what only you do exceptionally well.</li>
<li>For everything else, ask who could do it better than you.</li>
<li>Learn enough about that person’s strengths and motivations to hand the work off with confidence.</li>
<li>Revisit the list periodically as your own strengths sharpen.</li>
</ol>
<h2 id="watch-out-for">Watch out for</h2>
<ul>
<li>Overrating your own uniqueness — self-assessment here is biased by default.</li>
<li>Off-loading work without actually matching it to someone else’s real strength.</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="related-models">Related models</h2>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/10x-goal-setting/">10x Goal Setting</a> — the goal-setting counterpart to this focus-and-delegate approach.</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/metacognition/">Metacognition</a> — the underlying skill of accurately assessing your own thinking and abilities.</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/cognitive-biases/">Cognitive biases</a> — why self- and other-assessment need external checks.</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="sources">Sources</h2>
<p>Dan Sullivan and Benjamin Hardy, “10x Is Easier Than 2x” (the “Unique Ability” concept, Strategic Coach).
</content>
</invoke></p>
Smart2020-01-22T22:52:31+01:002020-01-22T22:52:31+01:00
Joost van der Laan
https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/smart/<p>SMART is a checklist for turning a vague goal into one that is Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound.</p>
<h2 id="the-idea">The idea</h2>
<p>A goal stated as “improve sales” or “get healthier” is hard to act on because it’s unclear what success looks like or by when. SMART forces five checks onto a goal: is it Specific (clearly defined, not vague), Measurable (has a number or clear criterion), Achievable (realistic given constraints), Relevant (connected to what actually matters), and Time-bound (has a deadline). A goal that passes all five is much easier to plan around and know when it’s done.</p>
<h2 id="when-to-use-it">When to use it</h2>
<ul>
<li>Turning a broad ambition into something concrete enough to plan and track</li>
<li>Setting individual or team goals for a quarter, project, or performance review</li>
<li>Checking whether a proposed goal is actually actionable before committing to it</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="how-to-apply-it">How to apply it</h2>
<ol>
<li>State the goal, then rewrite it to be as specific as possible.</li>
<li>Attach a number or clear criterion that lets you measure progress.</li>
<li>Sanity-check that it’s achievable given time, resources, and constraints.</li>
<li>Confirm it’s relevant to the larger objective it’s meant to serve.</li>
<li>Set a deadline.</li>
</ol>
<h2 id="watch-out-for">Watch out for</h2>
<ul>
<li>SMART works well for well-understood, near-term goals but can force false precision onto genuinely uncertain or long-horizon ambitions.</li>
<li>Optimizing hard for a measurable proxy can drift from the underlying goal it was meant to represent.</li>
<li>A goal that is SMART but not worth doing is still not worth doing — the framework doesn’t pick the goal for you.</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="related-models">Related models</h2>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/goal-setting/">Goal Setting</a> — choosing the right goal in the first place, before applying SMART to it.</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/objectives-and-key-results-okrs/">OKR</a> — a complementary framework pairing a qualitative objective with measurable key results.</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/big-hairy-audacious-goal-bhag/">Big Hairy Audacious Goal (BHAG)</a> — a longer-horizon, more aspirational counterpart to a SMART goal.</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="sources">Sources</h2>
<p>George T. Doran, “There’s a S.M.A.R.T. way to write management’s goals and objectives” (<em>Management Review</em>, 1981).</p>
Master Your Metrics2020-01-22T22:52:13+01:002020-01-22T22:52:13+01:00
Joost van der Laan
https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/master-your-metrics/<p>Metrics are only useful if they change what you do. Mastering your metrics
means picking a small set of numbers that genuinely represent progress toward
a goal, then building the habit of checking and acting on them — rather than
collecting dashboards full of numbers that feel productive to watch but never
change a decision.</p>
<h2 id="the-idea">The idea</h2>
<p>Any system you manage — a project, a habit, a business — produces far more
data than you can meaningfully act on. Vanity metrics (page views, follower
counts, hours worked) feel good to report but rarely tell you what to do
next. A mastered metric is one you can move with a specific action, and one
whose movement tells you whether that action worked.</p>
<h2 id="when-to-use-it">When to use it</h2>
<ul>
<li>Starting a new project or habit and deciding what “on track” means.</li>
<li>A dashboard has grown cluttered and no longer drives decisions.</li>
<li>Reporting progress to yourself or others and wanting the number to matter.</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="how-to-apply-it">How to apply it</h2>
<ol>
<li>List every metric currently reported or tracked.</li>
<li>For each, ask: “If this moved, would I change what I do?” Drop the ones
where the answer is no.</li>
<li>Keep the smallest set that still covers input (effort), process
(execution), and outcome (result).</li>
<li>Review the surviving metrics on a fixed cadence and write down the action
each check produces.</li>
</ol>
<h2 id="watch-out-for">Watch out for</h2>
<ul>
<li>Optimizing a proxy metric until it detaches from the real goal it was
meant to represent.</li>
<li>Too many “important” metrics, which is the same as having none.</li>
<li>Metrics that are easy to measure but hard to influence.</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="related-models">Related models</h2>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/ice-framework/">ICE Framework</a> — a way to prioritize which
actions are worth taking once your metrics tell you where to focus.</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/prioritization-8020-pareto/">Prioritization: 80/20 (Pareto)</a> —
most of your results usually trace back to a small subset of your metrics.</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/north-star/">North Star</a> — picking one metric above all
others to align a team’s effort.</li>
</ul>
4dx2020-01-22T22:51:36+01:002020-01-22T22:51:36+01:00
Joost van der Laan
https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/4dx/<p>4DX (the 4 Disciplines of Execution) is a framework for actually executing a small number of important goals, on top of the day-to-day “whirlwind” of urgent operational work that normally crowds them out.</p>
<h2 id="the-idea">The idea</h2>
<p>The framework has four disciplines, meant to be applied in order:</p>
<ol>
<li><strong>Focus on the Wildly Important</strong> — narrow to one or two goals (WIGs), instead of spreading effort across everything that matters.</li>
<li><strong>Act on lead measures</strong> — track the few actions that predictably drive the goal (lead measures), not just the outcome (a lag measure), since lead measures are the ones you can actually influence day to day.</li>
<li><strong>Keep a compelling scoreboard</strong> — make progress on the lead and lag measures visible to everyone, in a simple format people can check at a glance.</li>
<li><strong>Create a cadence of accountability</strong> — hold brief, regular meetings where each person reports on commitments made against the WIG and makes a new commitment for the next period.</li>
</ol>
<h2 id="when-to-use-it">When to use it</h2>
<ul>
<li>A team has clear strategic priorities but keeps losing them to daily urgent work.</li>
<li>Leadership wants a small number of goals executed reliably, not just planned.</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="how-to-apply-it">How to apply it</h2>
<ol>
<li>Pick one or two Wildly Important Goals — resist the urge to add more.</li>
<li>Identify the lead measures that predict progress on each WIG.</li>
<li>Build a simple, visible scoreboard for both lead and lag measures.</li>
<li>Run short, regular accountability meetings focused only on the WIGs.</li>
</ol>
<h2 id="watch-out-for">Watch out for</h2>
<ul>
<li>Choosing too many WIGs, which defeats the point of focus.</li>
<li>Tracking only lag measures, which can’t be acted on directly.</li>
<li>Letting the accountability cadence slip once the initial push fades.</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="related-models">Related models</h2>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/objectives-and-key-results-okrs/">OKR</a> — a related goal-tracking approach, with more emphasis on measurable key results.</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/big-hairy-audacious-goal-bhag/">Big Hairy Audacious Goal (BHAG)</a> — sets the ambitious target that 4DX then executes.</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/goal-setting/">Goal setting</a> — the broader practice 4DX adds an execution layer to.</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="sources">Sources</h2>
<p>Chris McChesney, Sean Covey, and Jim Huling, “The 4 Disciplines of Execution” (FranklinCovey).
</content>
</invoke></p>
10x Goal Setting2020-01-22T22:51:08+01:002020-01-22T22:51:08+01:00
Joost van der Laan
https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/10x-goal-setting/<p>A 10x goal takes whatever target you’d normally set and multiplies it by ten before you start planning — on the idea that a goal that big can’t be reached with your current approach, so it forces you to find a genuinely better one.</p>
<h2 id="the-idea">The idea</h2>
<p>Incremental goals invite incremental thinking: if you want 10% more, you keep doing what you’re doing, just harder. A 10x goal makes the old approach obviously insufficient, which pushes you to question assumptions, drop low-value work, and look for entirely different methods. The claim isn’t that 10x is always achievable — it’s that aiming for it surfaces better strategies than aiming for a “reasonable” increase ever would.</p>
<h2 id="when-to-use-it">When to use it</h2>
<ul>
<li>Annual or quarterly goal-setting, when last year’s plan is just “more of the same.”</li>
<li>When a team or individual feels stuck making only incremental progress.</li>
<li>Early in a project, before the plan has hardened around the current way of doing things.</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="how-to-apply-it">How to apply it</h2>
<ol>
<li>Take an existing goal and multiply it by ten.</li>
<li>Ask what would have to be true, or different, for that goal to be achievable at all.</li>
<li>Identify what current work would need to be eliminated or delegated to make room.</li>
<li>Build the plan around the new approach, not the old one scaled up.</li>
</ol>
<h2 id="watch-out-for">Watch out for</h2>
<ul>
<li>10x goals without a capacity or resource check can produce burnout instead of breakthroughs.</li>
<li>Treating “10x” as a slogan rather than an actual planning exercise.</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="related-models">Related models</h2>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/big-hairy-audacious-goal-bhag/">Big Hairy Audacious Goal (BHAG)</a> — the organizational version of the same idea.</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/goal-setting/">Goal setting</a> — the general practice this model deliberately breaks from.</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/4dx/">4DX</a> — a framework for executing a small number of ambitious goals once set.</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="sources">Sources</h2>
<p>Dan Sullivan and Benjamin Hardy, “10x Is Easier Than 2x”; Grant Cardone, “The 10X Rule.”
</content>
</invoke></p>
Dflss2020-01-22T22:49:18+01:002020-01-22T22:49:18+01:00
Joost van der Laan
https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/dflss/<p>Design for Lean Six Sigma (DFLSS) applies Lean and Six Sigma principles to the design of a new process, product, or service, rather than to improving one that already exists.</p>
<h2 id="the-idea">The idea</h2>
<p>Six Sigma’s classic DMAIC cycle (Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, Control) is built for optimizing an existing process. DFLSS instead uses a “design-first” cycle, commonly DMADV (Define, Measure, Analyze, Design, Verify), because there is no current process to measure and improve — the goal is to build in quality, efficiency, and low variation from the start, rather than fix it in afterward. It combines Lean’s focus on eliminating waste with Six Sigma’s focus on reducing defects and variation.</p>
<h2 id="when-to-use-it">When to use it</h2>
<ul>
<li>Launching a genuinely new product, service, or process, where no baseline process exists yet</li>
<li>Situations where retrofitting quality into an existing process (via DMAIC) would be more costly than designing it in</li>
<li>Projects with a clear customer requirement that needs to be translated into a robust design</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="how-to-apply-it">How to apply it</h2>
<ol>
<li>Define the project goals and customer requirements.</li>
<li>Measure and translate requirements into measurable design specifications.</li>
<li>Analyze options and identify the design that best meets the requirements.</li>
<li>Design the process or product in detail.</li>
<li>Verify the design performs as intended, often through a pilot.</li>
</ol>
<h2 id="watch-out-for">Watch out for</h2>
<ul>
<li>It requires more upfront rigor and data than an ad-hoc design process, which can feel slow for fast-moving teams</li>
<li>It is easy to confuse with DMAIC; the two apply to different situations (new design vs. existing process)</li>
<li>Like other Six Sigma tools, it can become bureaucratic if applied to problems too small to justify the overhead</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="related-models">Related models</h2>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/dmaic/">Dmaic</a> — the equivalent cycle for improving an existing process rather than designing a new one.</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/kaizen/">Kaizen</a> — a complementary philosophy of continuous, incremental improvement.</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/lean-startup/">Lean Startup</a> — a lighter-weight approach to validating a new product design.</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="sources">Sources</h2>
<p>Six Sigma / Lean Six Sigma methodology literature (Motorola, General Electric); commonly documented as the DMADV cycle.</p>
Dmaic2020-01-22T22:49:08+01:002020-01-22T22:49:08+01:00
Joost van der Laan
https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/dmaic/<p>DMAIC is the core Six Sigma methodology for improving an existing process, structured as five sequential phases.</p>
<h2 id="the-idea">The idea</h2>
<p>Each letter is a phase: Define the problem and goals; Measure current performance with real data; Analyze the data to find root causes of variation or defects; Improve the process by testing and implementing fixes; Control the improved process so gains stick, typically with monitoring and standard work. The cycle assumes the process already exists — unlike its cousin DMADV/DFSS, which designs a new one from scratch.</p>
<h2 id="when-to-use-it">When to use it</h2>
<ul>
<li>An existing process has a measurable quality, cost, or speed problem.</li>
<li>Data can realistically be collected on the process.</li>
<li>The organization needs a repeatable, disciplined structure rather than an ad-hoc fix.</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="how-to-apply-it">How to apply it</h2>
<ol>
<li><strong>Define</strong>: write a problem statement, scope, and goal.</li>
<li><strong>Measure</strong>: map the process and collect baseline data.</li>
<li><strong>Analyze</strong>: use root-cause techniques to isolate the real drivers of the problem.</li>
<li><strong>Improve</strong>: generate, test, and pilot changes before rolling them out.</li>
<li><strong>Control</strong>: put monitoring, documentation, and ownership in place so the improvement holds.</li>
</ol>
<h2 id="watch-out-for">Watch out for</h2>
<p>Skipping straight to “Improve” without solid Measure and Analyze data is the most common failure — it produces fixes for the wrong problem. The Control phase is also often neglected, letting the process drift back to its old state.</p>
<h2 id="related-models">Related models</h2>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/dflss/">Dflss</a> — the related Design for Lean Six Sigma approach for new processes.</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/root-cause-analysis/">Root Cause Analysis</a> — the technique underlying the Analyze phase.</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/kaizen/">Kaizen</a> — a complementary philosophy of continuous, incremental improvement.</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="sources">Sources</h2>
<p>Six Sigma methodology, originally developed at Motorola and popularized by General Electric.</p>
Waterfall2020-01-22T22:48:55+01:002020-01-22T22:48:55+01:00
Joost van der Laan
https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/waterfall/<p>Waterfall is a sequential approach to project management where each phase — requirements, design, build, test, release — is completed and signed off before the next one starts.</p>
<h2 id="the-idea">The idea</h2>
<p>Waterfall plans the whole project upfront and moves through fixed phases in order, treating each as a gate: once a phase is done, work flows downstream to the next and rarely flows back. This fits work where requirements are well understood in advance and change is expensive to accommodate mid-project, such as physical construction or regulated systems where rework late in the process is costly or unsafe.</p>
<h2 id="when-to-use-it">When to use it</h2>
<ul>
<li>Requirements are stable, well understood, and unlikely to change materially</li>
<li>The cost of changing course late in the process is high (construction, hardware, regulated industries)</li>
<li>Stakeholders need a fixed scope, timeline, and budget agreed upfront</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="how-to-apply-it">How to apply it</h2>
<ol>
<li>Gather and document complete requirements before design begins.</li>
<li>Complete the design phase fully before build starts.</li>
<li>Build, then test as a distinct phase once build is complete.</li>
<li>Release only after testing signs off, treating each phase transition as a formal gate.</li>
</ol>
<h2 id="watch-out-for">Watch out for</h2>
<p>Waterfall assumes requirements gathered at the start stay correct throughout the project; when they don’t, discovering the mismatch late (in testing) is the most expensive place to find it. It also gives stakeholders no working output to react to until very late, so misunderstandings compound silently.</p>
<h2 id="related-models">Related models</h2>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/agile/">Agile</a> — the iterative approach that developed largely as a reaction against waterfall’s rigidity.</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/scrum/">Scrum</a> — a specific agile framework often contrasted directly with waterfall.</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/critical-path-analysis/">Critical Path Analysis</a> — a scheduling technique commonly used within a waterfall plan.</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="sources">Sources</h2>
<p>Winston W. Royce, “Managing the Development of Large Software Systems” (1970) — often cited as the origin of the waterfall description, though Royce’s paper actually critiqued a purely sequential process.</p>
Scrum2020-01-22T22:48:43+01:002020-01-22T22:48:43+01:00
Joost van der Laan
https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/scrum/<p>Scrum is a lightweight framework for running agile product development in fixed-length iterations called sprints, with a small set of defined roles, events, and artifacts.</p>
<h2 id="the-idea">The idea</h2>
<p>Work is pulled from a prioritized backlog into short, fixed-length sprints (commonly one to four weeks). A small set of roles keeps the process light: the Product Owner owns the backlog and priorities, the Scrum Master facilitates the process and removes blockers, and the Development Team builds the increment. A handful of recurring events — sprint planning, a daily stand-up, a sprint review, and a retrospective — give the team a regular rhythm to plan, inspect, and adapt.</p>
<h2 id="when-to-use-it">When to use it</h2>
<ul>
<li>Product development where requirements are expected to evolve</li>
<li>Teams that benefit from a regular cadence of planning and review</li>
<li>Work that can be broken into a prioritized backlog of shippable increments</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="how-to-apply-it">How to apply it</h2>
<ol>
<li>Build and prioritize a product backlog.</li>
<li>Plan a sprint by pulling a slice of backlog items the team commits to finishing.</li>
<li>Hold a short daily stand-up to surface blockers.</li>
<li>Review the completed increment with stakeholders at the end of the sprint.</li>
<li>Run a retrospective to adjust the team’s own process before the next sprint.</li>
</ol>
<h2 id="watch-out-for">Watch out for</h2>
<ul>
<li>Running the ceremonies without the underlying discipline of inspect-and-adapt turns Scrum into empty ritual</li>
<li>A Product Owner who isn’t actually available to clarify priorities stalls the whole process</li>
<li>Sprints that run too long lose the fast-feedback benefit Scrum is built around</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="related-models">Related models</h2>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/agile/">Agile</a> — the broader philosophy Scrum implements.</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/waterfall/">Waterfall</a> — the sequential approach Scrum and agile react against.</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/kaizen/">Kaizen</a> — the retrospective borrows this continuous-improvement idea.</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="sources">Sources</h2>
<p>Ken Schwaber and Jeff Sutherland, <em>The Scrum Guide</em>.</p>
Lean Startup2020-01-22T22:48:21+01:002020-01-22T22:48:21+01:00
Joost van der Laan
https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/lean-startup/<p>The Lean Startup is a method for developing new products and businesses under extreme uncertainty by treating a startup as a series of testable experiments rather than a fixed plan.</p>
<h2 id="the-idea">The idea</h2>
<ul>
<li>The Build-Measure-Learn feedback loop: turn ideas into a minimum viable product (MVP), measure how customers actually behave, and learn from the result</li>
<li>Validated learning: progress is measured by what you have proven about customers, not by features shipped</li>
<li>Pivot or persevere: each loop ends with a decision to keep the current strategy or change course</li>
<li>Innovation accounting: track metrics that are actionable and honest, not vanity metrics that always trend up</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="when-to-use-it">When to use it</h2>
<ul>
<li>Launching a new product or feature under high uncertainty</li>
<li>Entering an unfamiliar market or customer segment</li>
<li>Testing a business model assumption before committing significant resources</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="how-to-apply-it">How to apply it</h2>
<ol>
<li>State the riskiest assumption underlying the idea</li>
<li>Build the smallest MVP that actually tests that assumption</li>
<li>Measure real customer behavior, not opinions or intentions</li>
<li>Decide explicitly: pivot or persevere</li>
<li>Repeat the loop, shortening cycle time each round</li>
</ol>
<h2 id="watch-out-for">Watch out for</h2>
<ul>
<li>Building an MVP so minimal it fails to test the real assumption</li>
<li>Optimizing for vanity metrics instead of actionable ones</li>
<li>Using “lean” as an excuse to avoid ever committing to a real bet</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="related-models">Related models</h2>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/agile/">Agile</a> — shares the iterative, feedback-driven cadence</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/design-sprint/">Design Sprint</a> — a compressed method for testing ideas before building</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/ice-framework/">ICE Framework</a> — one way to prioritize which experiments to run first</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="sources">Sources</h2>
<p>Eric Ries, “The Lean Startup” (2011).</p>
Kaizen2020-01-22T22:48:07+01:002020-01-22T22:48:07+01:00
Joost van der Laan
https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/kaizen/<p>Kaizen is the Japanese practice of continuous, incremental improvement, carried out by everyone in an organization every day, rather than left to a specialist team or an occasional big overhaul.</p>
<h2 id="the-idea">The idea</h2>
<p>Pure improvement, driven by everyone, everywhere, every day:</p>
<ul>
<li>Know your customer — identify their interests so you can enhance their experience and create real customer value</li>
<li>Let it flow — target zero waste; everyone in the organization works to create value and eliminate waste</li>
<li>Go to Gemba — value is created where the work actually happens, so go there and follow the action rather than manage from a distance</li>
<li>Be transparent — speak with real data; performance and improvements should be tangible and visible to everyone</li>
<li>Empower people — set shared goals for teams and give them the system and tools to reach them</li>
</ul>
<p>The philosophy is closely tied to the Toyota Production System and was popularized as a management approach in Masaaki Imai’s book <em>Kaizen: The Key to Japan’s Competitive Success</em>.</p>
<h2 id="when-to-use-it">When to use it</h2>
<ul>
<li>Refining a manufacturing or operational process step by step</li>
<li>Running team retrospectives that end in small, concrete changes</li>
<li>Building a personal practice of steady skill or habit improvement</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="how-to-apply-it">How to apply it</h2>
<ol>
<li>Go to Gemba: observe the place where the work actually happens</li>
<li>Find a specific piece of waste or friction, backed by real data, not opinion</li>
<li>Make one small change and test it</li>
<li>Standardize what works, then repeat the loop</li>
</ol>
<h2 id="watch-out-for">Watch out for</h2>
<ul>
<li>Treating Kaizen as a one-off improvement event rather than a sustained daily habit</li>
<li>Skipping Gemba and trying to improve a process from data and meetings alone</li>
<li>Relying only on small improvements when the underlying system itself needs a larger rethink</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="related-models">Related models</h2>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/dflss/">DFLSS</a> — a related Lean/Six Sigma improvement approach.</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/lean-startup/">Lean Startup</a> — shares Kaizen’s roots in Lean thinking and iterative improvement.</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/deliberate-practice/">Deliberate Practice</a> — the individual-skill analogue of continuous improvement.</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="sources">Sources</h2>
<p>Masaaki Imai, “Kaizen: The Key to Japan’s Competitive Success” (1986); <a class="external-link" rel="noopener external" target="_blank" href="https://www.kaizen.com/what-is-kaizen.html">Kaizen</a>.</p>
Design Sprint2020-01-22T22:47:57+01:002020-01-22T22:47:57+01:00
Joost van der Laan
https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/design-sprint/<p>The Design Sprint is a five-day process, developed at Google Ventures, for going from a business problem to a tested prototype without building the real product first.</p>
<h2 id="the-idea">The idea</h2>
<p>Rather than debating a product decision in meetings for weeks, a Design Sprint compresses design, prototyping, and validation into a single week with a small, focused team. Each day has a fixed goal, moving from problem to a validated (or invalidated) solution:</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Monday — Understand</strong>: map the problem and pick a target.</li>
<li><strong>Tuesday — Sketch</strong>: individually sketch possible solutions.</li>
<li><strong>Wednesday — Decide</strong>: critique the sketches and commit to one direction.</li>
<li><strong>Thursday — Prototype</strong>: build a realistic-looking, but fake, prototype.</li>
<li><strong>Friday — Test</strong>: put the prototype in front of real users and observe.</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="when-to-use-it">When to use it</h2>
<ul>
<li>A high-stakes product or feature decision where building the real thing first would be expensive</li>
<li>A team stuck debating a direction without real user data to settle it</li>
<li>Kicking off a new product, feature, or major redesign with alignment across stakeholders</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="how-to-apply-it">How to apply it</h2>
<ol>
<li>Assemble a small cross-functional team and a facilitator for the week.</li>
<li>Block five consecutive days with no other commitments.</li>
<li>Follow the Monday–Friday structure: understand, sketch, decide, prototype, test.</li>
<li>End Friday with real user feedback on a realistic prototype, not just opinions.</li>
</ol>
<h2 id="watch-out-for">Watch out for</h2>
<ul>
<li>It requires a full week of dedicated time from the whole team, which is a real cost to clear</li>
<li>A sprint is only as good as the problem framing on day one — sprinting on the wrong question wastes the week</li>
<li>Prototype feedback from a handful of users is directional, not statistically conclusive</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="related-models">Related models</h2>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/lean-startup/">Lean Startup</a> — a related philosophy of validating ideas quickly before fully building them.</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/ice-framework/">ICE Framework</a> — useful for choosing which problem is worth a sprint in the first place.</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="sources">Sources</h2>
<p>Jake Knapp, John Zeratsky, and Braden Kowitz, <em>Sprint: How to Solve Big Problems and Test New Ideas in Just Five Days</em> (2016).</p>
Agile2020-01-22T22:47:47+01:002020-01-22T22:47:47+01:00
Joost van der Laan
https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/agile/<p>Agile is an iterative approach to software and project management that delivers work in small increments, gathers feedback, and adapts the plan continuously instead of committing to a single fixed design upfront.</p>
<h2 id="the-idea">The idea</h2>
<p>Agile favors short cycles of planning, building, and reviewing over one long upfront plan. Teams ship small increments of working output, inspect the result, and adjust the next cycle based on what they learned — prioritizing responding to change over rigidly following a plan.</p>
<h2 id="when-to-use-it">When to use it</h2>
<ul>
<li>Requirements are likely to change or aren’t fully known upfront</li>
<li>Fast feedback from users or stakeholders is available and valuable</li>
<li>The work can be broken into small, independently shippable increments</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="how-to-apply-it">How to apply it</h2>
<ol>
<li>Break the work into small, prioritized increments.</li>
<li>Work in short, fixed-length cycles (iterations or sprints).</li>
<li>Review the result with stakeholders after each cycle.</li>
<li>Adjust priorities and the plan based on what was learned.</li>
</ol>
<h2 id="watch-out-for">Watch out for</h2>
<p>Without discipline, “agile” can become an excuse to skip planning entirely, producing a string of disconnected increments with no coherent direction. It also assumes stakeholders are actually available for frequent feedback, which isn’t always true.</p>
<h2 id="related-models">Related models</h2>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/scrum/">Scrum</a> — one specific framework for running agile iterations.</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/waterfall/">Waterfall</a> — the sequential, upfront-planning approach agile reacts against.</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/kaizen/">Kaizen</a> — continuous incremental improvement, a related philosophy.</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="sources">Sources</h2>
<p>The Agile Manifesto (2001), written by a group of software practitioners including Kent Beck and Martin Fowler.</p>
Ad Hoc2020-01-22T22:47:39+01:002020-01-22T22:47:39+01:00
Joost van der Laan
https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/ad-hoc/<p>Ad hoc means solving a specific problem right now, with whatever is at hand, rather than building a general process for it — the right call for a genuine one-off, a risky habit as a default.</p>
<h2 id="the-idea">The idea</h2>
<p>An ad hoc approach solves the problem directly in front of you without investing in reusable process, tooling, or infrastructure. It is fast and flexible precisely because there is no planning overhead, and it can be exactly the right choice when the situation truly will not recur.</p>
<h2 id="when-to-use-it">When to use it</h2>
<ul>
<li>The task is genuinely one-off and unlikely to happen again</li>
<li>Building a proper process would cost more than the problem is worth</li>
<li>You need a fast interim fix while a durable solution is designed</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="how-to-apply-it">How to apply it</h2>
<p>Solve the immediate problem with the simplest thing that works, then deliberately ask whether it was truly a one-off or the first sign of a recurring pattern. If it recurs, that is the signal to formalize it into a system.</p>
<h2 id="watch-out-for">Watch out for</h2>
<p>Ad hoc fixes that quietly become permanent infrastructure, accumulating technical or organizational debt nobody planned for. Handling every recurring problem ad hoc instead of investing in a system leads to duplicated effort and inconsistent results across a team.</p>
<h2 id="related-models">Related models</h2>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/agile/">Agile</a> — a structured alternative for recurring, evolving work.</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/root-cause-analysis/">Root Cause Analysis</a> — for when an ad hoc fix keeps recurring and needs a durable solution.</li>
</ul>
10x Project Management2020-01-22T22:47:25+01:002020-01-22T22:47:25+01:00
Joost van der Laan
https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/10x-project-management/<p>Most project plans get optimized at the margins — trim a week off the schedule, cut a little scope. 10x project management asks a different question up front: what would it take for this project to land ten times bigger, faster, or leaner than the default plan?</p>
<h2 id="the-idea">The idea</h2>
<p>A 10x version of a project usually can’t be reached by working the same plan harder. It forces you to cut non-essential scope, automate or delegate work that doesn’t need a specific person’s attention, and rebuild the timeline around the new approach rather than the old one. The point isn’t that every project should literally 10x — it’s that asking the question surfaces waste and better options that incremental planning never surfaces.</p>
<h2 id="when-to-use-it">When to use it</h2>
<ul>
<li>Kicking off an ambitious or high-stakes project, before the plan is locked in.</li>
<li>When a project is stuck making only incremental progress against its timeline or budget.</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="how-to-apply-it">How to apply it</h2>
<ol>
<li>Write down the default plan and its expected outcome.</li>
<li>Ask what a 10x version of that outcome would require.</li>
<li>List what would have to be cut, automated, or delegated to make that possible.</li>
<li>Rebuild the schedule and resourcing around the new approach.</li>
</ol>
<h2 id="watch-out-for">Watch out for</h2>
<ul>
<li>Unrealistic scope if the exercise isn’t paired with a real capacity check.</li>
<li>Using “10x” as a slogan rather than actually changing the plan.</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="related-models">Related models</h2>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/critical-path-analysis/">Critical path analysis</a> — useful once the 10x plan needs sequencing.</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/10x-goal-setting/">10x Goal Setting</a> — the same thinking applied to individual or organizational goals.</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/agile/">Agile</a> — an execution style that supports rapid replanning once scope changes.</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="sources">Sources</h2>
<p>General “10x thinking” as popularized by Dan Sullivan (“10x Is Easier Than 2x”) and Grant Cardone (“The 10X Rule”), applied here to project planning.
</content>
</invoke></p>
Cognitive Biases2020-01-22T22:44:19+01:002020-01-22T22:44:19+01:00
Joost van der Laan
https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/cognitive-biases/<p>Cognitive biases are systematic, predictable patterns in human judgment that cause people to deviate from rational or objective thinking.</p>
<h2 id="the-idea">The idea</h2>
<p>Human brains rely on mental shortcuts, or heuristics, to make fast decisions under uncertainty. These shortcuts are efficient but predictably distort judgment in the same direction across many people, producing biases: reasoning errors that repeat rather than random noise. Charlie Munger’s “Psychology of Human Misjudgment” catalogued around 25 such tendencies, and observed that biases rarely act alone; when several reinforce each other in the same direction, the combined effect can be far larger than any single bias.</p>
<h2 id="when-to-use-it">When to use it</h2>
<ul>
<li>Reviewing a decision before committing to it, to check which biases might be distorting the judgment</li>
<li>Designing processes, incentives, or environments that account for predictable human error rather than assuming perfect rationality</li>
<li>Understanding why groups and markets sometimes behave irrationally in a coordinated way</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="how-to-apply-it">How to apply it</h2>
<ol>
<li>Learn the individual biases, listed under Related models below, so they become recognizable in the moment</li>
<li>Before a significant decision, run a short checklist of the biases most likely to apply, such as incentives, social proof, or recent events</li>
<li>Seek an outside view or a person with no stake in the outcome to counter self-serving biases</li>
<li>Watch for multiple biases compounding in the same direction — that combination is the most dangerous case</li>
</ol>
<h2 id="watch-out-for">Watch out for</h2>
<ul>
<li>Knowing about biases does not make you immune to them; awareness alone is a weak defense</li>
<li>Labeling someone else’s reasoning as “biased” can itself become a rhetorical weapon</li>
<li>Biases interact; treating them as isolated effects underestimates their real-world impact</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="related-models">Related models</h2>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/lollapalooza/">Lollapalooza</a> — what happens when several biases combine and reinforce each other</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/social-proof/">Social Proof</a> — one of the most common biases in group settings</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/authority-misinfluence/">Authority-Misinfluence</a> — deferring to authority beyond what the evidence supports</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/over-optimism/">Over-Optimism</a> — the tendency to overestimate favorable outcomes</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/availability-misweighing/">Availability-Misweighing</a> — overweighting information that comes easily to mind</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/contrast-misreaction/">Contrast Misreaction</a> — judging things relative to a recent reference point rather than in absolute terms</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="sources">Sources</h2>
<p>Charlie Munger, “The Psychology of Human Misjudgment” (speech, 1995, later published in <em>Poor Charlie’s Almanack</em>); Daniel Kahneman, <em>Thinking, Fast and Slow</em> (2011).</p>
ICE Framework2020-01-22T10:00:00+01:002020-01-22T10:00:00+01:00
Joost van der Laan
https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/ice-framework/<p>The ICE Framework is a <strong>powerful prioritization tool</strong> that helps you make data-driven decisions by scoring options across three key dimensions: Impact, Confidence, and Ease.</p>
<h2 id="the-idea">The idea</h2>
<h3 id="what-is-the-ice-framework">What is the ICE Framework?</h3>
<p>ICE stands for:</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>I</strong>mpact: The potential positive effect if successful</li>
<li><strong>C</strong>onfidence: Your certainty of success</li>
<li><strong>E</strong>ase: How simple it is to implement</li>
</ul>
<p>By scoring each option from 1-10 on these dimensions and averaging them, you get a clear priority ranking that balances <strong>potential value</strong> with <strong>practical feasibility</strong>.</p>
<h3 id="the-decision-making-hierarchy">The Decision-Making Hierarchy</h3>
<p>The ICE Framework fits into a broader system for making decisions at different time scales:</p>
<h4 id="1-long-term-regret-minimization-years-lifetime">1. Long-term: Regret Minimization (Years/Lifetime)</h4>
<p>See also the dedicated page on <a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/regret-minimization/">Regret Minimization</a></p>
<p>For major life decisions, ask yourself: <strong>“Which option will I most regret not choosing when I look back?”</strong> This optimizes for long-term fulfillment and helps you:</p>
<ul>
<li>Choose career paths</li>
<li>Make relationship decisions</li>
<li>Decide on major life changes</li>
</ul>
<h4 id="2-medium-term-pareto-s-principle-months-years">2. Medium-term: Pareto’s Principle (Months/Years)</h4>
<p>Apply the <strong>80/20 rule</strong> to maximize your return on investment:</p>
<ul>
<li>Focus on the <strong>top 20% of activities</strong> that yield 80% of results</li>
<li>Identify high-leverage skills to develop</li>
<li>Choose which relationships to nurture</li>
<li>Select business opportunities with the highest ROI</li>
</ul>
<h4 id="3-short-term-ice-framework-weeks-months">3. Short-term: ICE Framework (Weeks/Months)</h4>
<p>When facing multiple options that need prioritization:</p>
<ol>
<li>
<p><strong>Score each option</strong> on a scale of 1-10 for:</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Impact</strong>: How much positive change would this create?</li>
<li><strong>Confidence</strong>: How likely is this to succeed?</li>
<li><strong>Ease</strong>: How quickly/easily can this be implemented?</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>
<p><strong>Calculate the ICE score</strong>: Average the three numbers</p>
</li>
<li>
<p><strong>Rank your options</strong>: Highest ICE scores get top priority</p>
</li>
</ol>
<h4 id="4-daily-eisenhower-matrix-days-hours">4. Daily: Eisenhower Matrix (Days/Hours)</h4>
<p>For day-to-day task management, create a 2×2 grid:</p>
<table><thead><tr><th></th><th><strong>Urgent</strong></th><th><strong>Not Urgent</strong></th></tr></thead><tbody>
<tr><td><strong>Important</strong></td><td>Do First</td><td>Schedule</td></tr>
<tr><td><strong>Not Important</strong></td><td>Delegate</td><td>Eliminate</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<p><strong>Prioritize in this order:</strong></p>
<ol>
<li>Important & Urgent</li>
<li>Important but Not Urgent</li>
<li>Urgent but Not Important</li>
<li>Neither Important nor Urgent</li>
</ol>
<h3 id="key-takeaway">Key Takeaway</h3>
<p>The ICE Framework transforms subjective decisions into <strong>objective comparisons</strong>. By breaking down complex choices into three simple dimensions, you can make faster, more confident decisions that balance ambition with practicality.</p>
<p>Remember: <strong>The best decision is often the one you can execute successfully</strong>, not just the one with the highest potential impact.</p>
<h2 id="when-to-use-it">When to use it</h2>
<p>The ICE Framework excels in:</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Product development</strong>: Prioritizing features</li>
<li><strong>Marketing</strong>: Choosing growth experiments</li>
<li><strong>Personal productivity</strong>: Selecting projects to pursue</li>
<li><strong>Team planning</strong>: Aligning on priorities</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="how-to-apply-it">How to apply it</h2>
<h3 id="step-1-list-your-options">Step 1: List Your Options</h3>
<p>Write down all potential projects, features, or decisions you’re considering.</p>
<h3 id="step-2-score-honestly">Step 2: Score Honestly</h3>
<p>For each option, ask:</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Impact</strong>: “If this works perfectly, how much value does it create?” (1-10)</li>
<li><strong>Confidence</strong>: “Based on evidence and experience, how likely is success?” (1-10)</li>
<li><strong>Ease</strong>: “How much time, effort, and resources will this require?” (10 = very easy, 1 = very hard)</li>
</ul>
<h3 id="step-3-calculate-and-compare">Step 3: Calculate and Compare</h3>
<p>Average the three scores. Options with scores of <strong>7+ are typically worth pursuing</strong>, while scores below 5 might need reconsideration or improvement.</p>
<h3 id="step-4-review-and-adjust">Step 4: Review and Adjust</h3>
<p>ICE scores aren’t permanent. As you gather more information or circumstances change, <strong>revisit and update your scores</strong>.</p>
<h2 id="watch-out-for">Watch out for</h2>
<ul>
<li><strong>Inflating scores</strong>: Be realistic, especially with confidence ratings</li>
<li><strong>Ignoring dependencies</strong>: Some high-ICE items might require completing lower-scored prerequisites</li>
<li><strong>Over-analyzing</strong>: ICE is meant to simplify decisions, not complicate them</li>
<li><strong>Forgetting context</strong>: A low-ease score might be worth it for extremely high impact</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="related-models">Related models</h2>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/regret-minimization/">Regret Minimization</a> — the long-term counterpart in ICE’s decision-making hierarchy.</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/prioritization-8020-pareto/">Prioritization 80/20 Pareto</a> — the medium-term counterpart, focused on the highest-leverage 20% of activities.</li>
<li><a href="https://joostvanderlaan.nl/models/eisenhower-matrix/">Eisenhower Matrix</a> — the daily counterpart for sorting urgent versus important tasks.</li>
</ul>
Perfect looking webfonts for Chrome on Windows2014-04-30T10:00:00+01:002014-04-30T10:00:00+01:00
Joost van der Laan
https://joostvanderlaan.nl/2014-04-30-perfect-looking-webfonts-for-chrome-on-windows/<p>Font-face webfonts look terrible in Chrome on Windows by default. Luckily there
is a solution for this common problem. It does involve some work, but it’s
absolutely worth the trouble. (If you’re like me and can’t stand the pixelated,
grainy looking fonts)</p>
<p><img src="/images/posts/2014-04-30-perfect-looking-webfonts-for-chrome-on-windows/Gutenberg.jpg" alt="Johannes Gutenberg" /></p>
<ol>
<li>
<p>Download the Google .TTF font from the Google Webfont directory.</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>Convert the .TTF font on FontSquirrel so you’ll get the .EOT .WOFF .SVG
formats.</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>Create CSS in your <code>/css</code> folder. In this case I’m referencing the fonts
which are located in the <code>/fonts</code> folder.</p>
</li>
</ol>
<pre class="giallo" style="color: #E0DEF4; background-color: #191724;"><code data-lang="css"><span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #908CAA;"> @</span><span style="color: #31748F;">font-face</span><span style="color: #908CAA;"> {</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #9CCFD8;"> font-family</span><span style="color: #908CAA;">:</span><span style="color: #F6C177;"> 'Oswald'</span><span style="color: #908CAA;">;</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #9CCFD8;"> font-style</span><span style="color: #908CAA;">:</span><span style="color: #F6C177;"> normal</span><span style="color: #908CAA;">;</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #9CCFD8;"> font-weight</span><span style="color: #908CAA;">:</span><span style="color: #EBBCBA;"> 700</span><span style="color: #908CAA;">;</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #9CCFD8;"> src</span><span style="color: #908CAA;">:</span><span style="color: #EB6F92;font-style: italic;"> url</span><span style="color: #908CAA;">(</span><span style="color: #F6C177;">'../fonts/oswald-bold-webfont.eot'</span><span style="color: #908CAA;">);</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #9CCFD8;"> src</span><span style="color: #908CAA;">:</span><span style="color: #EB6F92;font-style: italic;"> url</span><span style="color: #908CAA;">(</span><span style="color: #F6C177;">'../fonts/oswald-bold-webfont.eot?#iefix'</span><span style="color: #908CAA;">)</span><span style="color: #EB6F92;font-style: italic;"> format</span><span style="color: #908CAA;">(</span><span style="color: #F6C177;">'embedded-opentype'</span><span style="color: #908CAA;">),</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #EB6F92;font-style: italic;"> url</span><span style="color: #908CAA;">(</span><span style="color: #F6C177;">'../fonts/oswald-bold-webfont.woff'</span><span style="color: #908CAA;">)</span><span style="color: #EB6F92;font-style: italic;"> format</span><span style="color: #908CAA;">(</span><span style="color: #F6C177;">'woff'</span><span style="color: #908CAA;">),</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #EB6F92;font-style: italic;"> url</span><span style="color: #908CAA;">(</span><span style="color: #F6C177;">'../fonts/oswald-bold-webfont.ttf'</span><span style="color: #908CAA;">)</span><span style="color: #EB6F92;font-style: italic;"> format</span><span style="color: #908CAA;">(</span><span style="color: #F6C177;">'truetype'</span><span style="color: #908CAA;">),</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #EB6F92;font-style: italic;"> url</span><span style="color: #908CAA;">(</span><span style="color: #F6C177;">'../fonts/oswald-bold-webfont.svg#oswaldbold'</span><span style="color: #908CAA;">)</span><span style="color: #EB6F92;font-style: italic;"> format</span><span style="color: #908CAA;">(</span><span style="color: #F6C177;">'svg'</span><span style="color: #908CAA;">);</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #908CAA;">}</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #908CAA;">@</span><span style="color: #31748F;">media</span><span style="color: #F6C177;"> screen</span><span style="color: #31748F;"> and</span><span style="color: #908CAA;"> (</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">-webkit-min-device-pixel-ratio</span><span style="color: #908CAA;">:</span><span style="color: #EBBCBA;">0</span><span style="color: #908CAA;">) {</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #908CAA;"> @</span><span style="color: #31748F;">font-face</span><span style="color: #908CAA;"> {</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #9CCFD8;"> font-family</span><span style="color: #908CAA;">:</span><span style="color: #F6C177;"> 'Oswald'</span><span style="color: #908CAA;">;</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #9CCFD8;"> font-style</span><span style="color: #908CAA;">:</span><span style="color: #F6C177;"> normal</span><span style="color: #908CAA;">;</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #9CCFD8;"> font-weight</span><span style="color: #908CAA;">:</span><span style="color: #EBBCBA;"> 700</span><span style="color: #908CAA;">;</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #9CCFD8;"> src</span><span style="color: #908CAA;">:</span><span style="color: #EB6F92;font-style: italic;"> url</span><span style="color: #908CAA;">(</span><span style="color: #F6C177;">'../fonts/oswald-bold-webfont.svg#oswaldbold'</span><span style="color: #908CAA;">)</span><span style="color: #EB6F92;font-style: italic;"> format</span><span style="color: #908CAA;">(</span><span style="color: #F6C177;">'svg'</span><span style="color: #908CAA;">),</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #EB6F92;font-style: italic;"> url</span><span style="color: #908CAA;">(</span><span style="color: #F6C177;">'../fonts/oswald-bold-webfont.woff'</span><span style="color: #908CAA;">)</span><span style="color: #EB6F92;font-style: italic;"> format</span><span style="color: #908CAA;">(</span><span style="color: #F6C177;">'woff'</span><span style="color: #908CAA;">);</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #908CAA;"> }</span></span></code></pre>Styleguide2014-04-30T10:00:00+01:002014-04-30T10:00:00+01:00
Joost van der Laan
https://joostvanderlaan.nl/2014-04-30-styleguide/<h2 id="styleguide">Styleguide</h2>
<p>to be continued…</p>
Typography2014-04-30T10:00:00+01:002014-04-30T10:00:00+01:00
Joost van der Laan
https://joostvanderlaan.nl/2014-04-30-typography/<h2 id="headings">Headings</h2>
<p>Headings from <code>h1</code> through <code>h6</code> are constructed with a <code>#</code> for each level:</p>
<pre class="giallo" style="color: #E0DEF4; background-color: #191724;"><code data-lang="markdown"><span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #908CAA;font-weight: bold;">#</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;font-weight: bold;"> h1 Heading</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #908CAA;font-weight: bold;">##</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;font-weight: bold;"> h2 Heading</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #908CAA;font-weight: bold;">###</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;font-weight: bold;"> h3 Heading</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #908CAA;font-weight: bold;">####</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;font-weight: bold;"> h4 Heading</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #908CAA;font-weight: bold;">#####</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;font-weight: bold;"> h5 Heading</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #908CAA;font-weight: bold;">######</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;font-weight: bold;"> h6 Heading</span></span></code></pre>
<p>Renders to:</p>
<h1 id="h1-heading">h1 Heading</h1>
<h2 id="h2-heading">h2 Heading</h2>
<h3 id="h3-heading">h3 Heading</h3>
<h4 id="h4-heading">h4 Heading</h4>
<h5 id="h5-heading">h5 Heading</h5>
<h6 id="h6-heading">h6 Heading</h6>
<p>HTML:</p>
<pre class="giallo" style="color: #E0DEF4; background-color: #191724;"><code data-lang="html"><span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #6E6A86;"><</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">h1</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">></span><span>h1 Heading</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;"></</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">h1</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">></span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #6E6A86;"><</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">h2</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">></span><span>h2 Heading</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;"></</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">h2</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">></span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #6E6A86;"><</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">h3</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">></span><span>h3 Heading</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;"></</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">h3</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">></span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #6E6A86;"><</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">h4</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">></span><span>h4 Heading</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;"></</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">h4</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">></span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #6E6A86;"><</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">h5</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">></span><span>h5 Heading</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;"></</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">h5</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">></span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #6E6A86;"><</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">h6</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">></span><span>h6 Heading</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;"></</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">h6</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">></span></span></code></pre><h2 id="horizontal-rules">Horizontal Rules</h2>
<p>The HTML <code><hr></code> element is for creating a “thematic break” between
paragraph-level elements. In markdown, you can create a <code><hr></code> with any of the
following:</p>
<ul>
<li><code>___</code>: three consecutive underscores</li>
<li><code>---</code>: three consecutive dashes</li>
<li><code>***</code>: three consecutive asterisks</li>
</ul>
<p>renders to:</p>
<hr />
<hr />
<hr />
<h2 id="body-copy">Body Copy</h2>
<p>Body copy written as normal, plain text will be wrapped with <code><p></p></code> tags in
the rendered HTML.</p>
<p>So this body copy:</p>
<pre class="giallo" style="color: #E0DEF4; background-color: #191724;"><code data-lang="markdown"><span class="giallo-l"><span>Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, graecis denique ei vel, at duo primis mandamus. Et</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span>legere ocurreret pri, animal tacimates complectitur ad cum. Cu eum inermis</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span>inimicus efficiendi. Labore officiis his ex, soluta officiis concludaturque ei</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span>qui, vide sensibus vim ad.</span></span></code></pre>
<p>renders to this HTML:</p>
<pre class="giallo" style="color: #E0DEF4; background-color: #191724;"><code data-lang="html"><span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #6E6A86;"><</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">p</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">></span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span> Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, graecis denique ei vel, at duo primis mandamus. Et legere ocurreret</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span> pri, animal tacimates complectitur ad cum. Cu eum inermis inimicus efficiendi. Labore officiis his</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span> ex, soluta officiis concludaturque ei qui, vide sensibus vim ad.</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #6E6A86;"></</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">p</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">></span></span></code></pre><h2 id="emphasis">Emphasis</h2>
<h3 id="bold">Bold</h3>
<p>For emphasizing a snippet of text with a heavier font-weight.</p>
<p>The following snippet of text is <strong>rendered as bold text</strong>.</p>
<pre class="giallo" style="color: #E0DEF4; background-color: #191724;"><code data-lang="markdown"><span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #908CAA;font-weight: bold;">**</span><span style="font-weight: bold;">rendered as bold text</span><span style="color: #908CAA;font-weight: bold;">**</span></span></code></pre>
<p>renders to:</p>
<p><strong>rendered as bold text</strong></p>
<p>and this HTML</p>
<pre class="giallo" style="color: #E0DEF4; background-color: #191724;"><code data-lang="html"><span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #6E6A86;"><</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">strong</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">></span><span>rendered as bold text</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;"></</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">strong</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">></span></span></code></pre><h3 id="italics">Italics</h3>
<p>For emphasizing a snippet of text with italics.</p>
<p>The following snippet of text is <em>rendered as italicized text</em>.</p>
<pre class="giallo" style="color: #E0DEF4; background-color: #191724;"><code data-lang="markdown"><span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #908CAA;font-style: italic;">_</span><span style="font-style: italic;">rendered as italicized text</span><span style="color: #908CAA;font-style: italic;">_</span></span></code></pre>
<p>renders to:</p>
<p><em>rendered as italicized text</em></p>
<p>and this HTML:</p>
<pre class="giallo" style="color: #E0DEF4; background-color: #191724;"><code data-lang="html"><span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #6E6A86;"><</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">em</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">></span><span>rendered as italicized text</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;"></</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">em</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">></span></span></code></pre><h3 id="strikethrough">strikethrough</h3>
<p>In GFM you can do strickthroughs.</p>
<pre class="giallo" style="color: #E0DEF4; background-color: #191724;"><code data-lang="markdown"><span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #908CAA;">~~</span><span>Strike through this text.</span><span style="color: #908CAA;">~~</span></span></code></pre>
<p>Which renders to:</p>
<p><del>Strike through this text.</del></p>
<h2 id="blockquotes">Blockquotes</h2>
<p>For quoting blocks of content from another source within your document.</p>
<p>Add <code>></code> before any text you want to quote.</p>
<pre class="giallo" style="color: #E0DEF4; background-color: #191724;"><code data-lang="markdown"><span class="giallo-l"><span>Add </span><span style="color: #908CAA;">`</span><span>></span><span style="color: #908CAA;">`</span><span> before any text you want to quote.</span></span></code></pre>
<p>Renders to:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Integer posuere erat
a ante.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>and this HTML:</p>
<pre class="giallo" style="color: #E0DEF4; background-color: #191724;"><code data-lang="html"><span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #6E6A86;"><</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">blockquote</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">></span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #6E6A86;"> <</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">p</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">></span><span>Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Integer posuere erat a ante.</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;"></</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">p</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">></span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #6E6A86;"></</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">blockquote</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">></span></span></code></pre>
<p>Blockquotes can also be nested:</p>
<pre class="giallo" style="color: #E0DEF4; background-color: #191724;"><code data-lang="markdown"><span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #908CAA;">></span><span> Donec massa lacus, ultricies a ullamcorper in, fermentum sed augue. Nunc augue</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #908CAA;">></span><span> augue, aliquam non hendrerit ac, commodo vel nisi.</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #908CAA;">></span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #908CAA;">></span><span> Sed adipiscing elit vitae augue consectetur a gravida nunc vehicula. Donec</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #908CAA;">></span><span> auctor odio non est accumsan facilisis. Aliquam id turpis in dolor tincidunt</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #908CAA;">></span><span> mollis ac eu diam.</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #908CAA;">></span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #908CAA;">></span><span> Donec massa lacus, ultricies a ullamcorper in, fermentum sed augue. Nunc augue</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #908CAA;">></span><span> augue, aliquam non hendrerit ac, commodo vel nisi.</span></span></code></pre>
<p>Renders to:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Donec massa lacus, ultricies a ullamcorper in, fermentum sed augue. Nunc augue
augue, aliquam non hendrerit ac, commodo vel nisi.</p>
<p>Sed adipiscing elit vitae augue consectetur a gravida nunc vehicula. Donec
auctor odio non est accumsan facilisis. Aliquam id turpis in dolor tincidunt
mollis ac eu diam.</p>
<p>Donec massa lacus, ultricies a ullamcorper in, fermentum sed augue. Nunc augue
augue, aliquam non hendrerit ac, commodo vel nisi.</p>
</blockquote>
<h2 id="lists">Lists</h2>
<h3 id="unordered">Unordered</h3>
<p>A list of items in which the order of the items does not explicitly matter.</p>
<p>You may use any of the following symbols to denote bullets for each list item:</p>
<pre class="giallo" style="color: #E0DEF4; background-color: #191724;"><code data-lang="markdown"><span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #908CAA;">-</span><span> valid bullet</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #908CAA;">-</span><span> valid bullet</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #908CAA;">-</span><span> valid bullet</span></span></code></pre>
<p>For example</p>
<pre class="giallo" style="color: #E0DEF4; background-color: #191724;"><code data-lang="markdown"><span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #908CAA;">-</span><span> Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #908CAA;">-</span><span> Consectetur adipiscing elit</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #908CAA;">-</span><span> Integer molestie lorem at massa</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #908CAA;">-</span><span> Facilisis in pretium nisl aliquet</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #908CAA;">-</span><span> Nulla volutpat aliquam velit</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #908CAA;"> -</span><span> Phasellus iaculis neque</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #908CAA;"> -</span><span> Purus sodales ultricies</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #908CAA;"> -</span><span> Vestibulum laoreet porttitor sem</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #908CAA;"> -</span><span> Ac tristique libero volutpat at</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #908CAA;">-</span><span> Faucibus porta lacus fringilla vel</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #908CAA;">-</span><span> Aenean sit amet erat nunc</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #908CAA;">-</span><span> Eget porttitor lorem</span></span></code></pre>
<p>Renders to:</p>
<ul>
<li>Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet</li>
<li>Consectetur adipiscing elit</li>
<li>Integer molestie lorem at massa</li>
<li>Facilisis in pretium nisl aliquet</li>
<li>Nulla volutpat aliquam velit
<ul>
<li>Phasellus iaculis neque</li>
<li>Purus sodales ultricies</li>
<li>Vestibulum laoreet porttitor sem</li>
<li>Ac tristique libero volutpat at</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Faucibus porta lacus fringilla vel</li>
<li>Aenean sit amet erat nunc</li>
<li>Eget porttitor lorem</li>
</ul>
<p>And this HTML</p>
<pre class="giallo" style="color: #E0DEF4; background-color: #191724;"><code data-lang="html"><span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #6E6A86;"><</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">ul</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">></span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #6E6A86;"> <</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">li</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">></span><span>Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;"></</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">li</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">></span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #6E6A86;"> <</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">li</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">></span><span>Consectetur adipiscing elit</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;"></</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">li</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">></span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #6E6A86;"> <</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">li</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">></span><span>Integer molestie lorem at massa</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;"></</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">li</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">></span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #6E6A86;"> <</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">li</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">></span><span>Facilisis in pretium nisl aliquet</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;"></</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">li</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">></span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #6E6A86;"> <</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">li</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">></span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span> Nulla volutpat aliquam velit</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #6E6A86;"> <</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">ul</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">></span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #6E6A86;"> <</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">li</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">></span><span>Phasellus iaculis neque</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;"></</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">li</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">></span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #6E6A86;"> <</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">li</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">></span><span>Purus sodales ultricies</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;"></</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">li</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">></span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #6E6A86;"> <</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">li</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">></span><span>Vestibulum laoreet porttitor sem</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;"></</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">li</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">></span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #6E6A86;"> <</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">li</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">></span><span>Ac tristique libero volutpat at</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;"></</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">li</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">></span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #6E6A86;"> </</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">ul</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">></span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #6E6A86;"> </</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">li</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">></span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #6E6A86;"> <</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">li</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">></span><span>Faucibus porta lacus fringilla vel</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;"></</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">li</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">></span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #6E6A86;"> <</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">li</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">></span><span>Aenean sit amet erat nunc</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;"></</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">li</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">></span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #6E6A86;"> <</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">li</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">></span><span>Eget porttitor lorem</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;"></</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">li</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">></span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #6E6A86;"></</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">ul</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">></span></span></code></pre><h3 id="ordered">Ordered</h3>
<p>A list of items in which the order of items does explicitly matter.</p>
<pre class="giallo" style="color: #E0DEF4; background-color: #191724;"><code data-lang="markdown"><span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #908CAA;">1.</span><span> Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #908CAA;">2.</span><span> Consectetur adipiscing elit</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #908CAA;">3.</span><span> Integer molestie lorem at massa</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #908CAA;">4.</span><span> Facilisis in pretium nisl aliquet</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #908CAA;">5.</span><span> Nulla volutpat aliquam velit</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #908CAA;">6.</span><span> Faucibus porta lacus fringilla vel</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #908CAA;">7.</span><span> Aenean sit amet erat nunc</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #908CAA;">8.</span><span> Eget porttitor lorem</span></span></code></pre>
<p>Renders to:</p>
<ol>
<li>Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet</li>
<li>Consectetur adipiscing elit</li>
<li>Integer molestie lorem at massa</li>
<li>Facilisis in pretium nisl aliquet</li>
<li>Nulla volutpat aliquam velit</li>
<li>Faucibus porta lacus fringilla vel</li>
<li>Aenean sit amet erat nunc</li>
<li>Eget porttitor lorem</li>
</ol>
<p>And this HTML:</p>
<pre class="giallo" style="color: #E0DEF4; background-color: #191724;"><code data-lang="html"><span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #6E6A86;"><</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">ol</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">></span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #6E6A86;"> <</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">li</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">></span><span>Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;"></</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">li</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">></span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #6E6A86;"> <</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">li</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">></span><span>Consectetur adipiscing elit</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;"></</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">li</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">></span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #6E6A86;"> <</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">li</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">></span><span>Integer molestie lorem at massa</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;"></</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">li</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">></span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #6E6A86;"> <</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">li</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">></span><span>Facilisis in pretium nisl aliquet</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;"></</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">li</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">></span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #6E6A86;"> <</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">li</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">></span><span>Nulla volutpat aliquam velit</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;"></</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">li</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">></span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #6E6A86;"> <</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">li</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">></span><span>Faucibus porta lacus fringilla vel</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;"></</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">li</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">></span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #6E6A86;"> <</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">li</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">></span><span>Aenean sit amet erat nunc</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;"></</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">li</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">></span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #6E6A86;"> <</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">li</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">></span><span>Eget porttitor lorem</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;"></</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">li</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">></span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #6E6A86;"></</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">ol</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">></span></span></code></pre>
<p><strong>TIP</strong>: If you just use <code>1.</code> for each number, GitHub will automatically number
each item. For example:</p>
<pre class="giallo" style="color: #E0DEF4; background-color: #191724;"><code data-lang="markdown"><span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #908CAA;">1.</span><span> Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #908CAA;">1.</span><span> Consectetur adipiscing elit</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #908CAA;">1.</span><span> Integer molestie lorem at massa</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #908CAA;">1.</span><span> Facilisis in pretium nisl aliquet</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #908CAA;">1.</span><span> Nulla volutpat aliquam velit</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #908CAA;">1.</span><span> Faucibus porta lacus fringilla vel</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #908CAA;">1.</span><span> Aenean sit amet erat nunc</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #908CAA;">1.</span><span> Eget porttitor lorem</span></span></code></pre>
<p>Renders to:</p>
<ol>
<li>Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet</li>
<li>Consectetur adipiscing elit</li>
<li>Integer molestie lorem at massa</li>
<li>Facilisis in pretium nisl aliquet</li>
<li>Nulla volutpat aliquam velit</li>
<li>Faucibus porta lacus fringilla vel</li>
<li>Aenean sit amet erat nunc</li>
<li>Eget porttitor lorem</li>
</ol>
<h2 id="code">Code</h2>
<h3 id="inline-code">Inline code</h3>
<p>Wrap inline snippets of code with <code>`</code>.</p>
<p>For example, <code><section></section></code> should be wrapped as “inline”.</p>
<pre class="giallo" style="color: #E0DEF4; background-color: #191724;"><code data-lang="html"><span class="giallo-l"><span>For example, `</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #6E6A86;"><</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">section</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">></</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">section</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">></span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span>` should be wrapped as "inline".</span></span></code></pre><h3 id="indented-code">Indented code</h3>
<p>Or indent several lines of code by at least four spaces, as in:</p>
<pre class="giallo" style="color: #E0DEF4; background-color: #191724;"><code data-lang="javascript"><span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #908CAA;font-style: italic;">//</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;font-style: italic;"> Some comments</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span style="font-style: italic;">line</span><span style="color: #EBBCBA;"> 1</span><span style="color: #31748F;"> of</span><span style="font-style: italic;"> code</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span style="font-style: italic;">line</span><span style="color: #EBBCBA;"> 2</span><span style="color: #31748F;"> of</span><span style="font-style: italic;"> code</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span style="font-style: italic;">line</span><span style="color: #EBBCBA;"> 3</span><span style="color: #31748F;"> of</span><span style="font-style: italic;"> code</span></span></code></pre><pre class="giallo" style="color: #E0DEF4; background-color: #191724;"><code data-lang="plain"><span class="giallo-l"><span>// Some comments</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span>line 1 of code</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span>line 2 of code</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span>line 3 of code</span></span></code></pre><h3 id="block-code-fences">Block code “fences”</h3>
<p>Use “fences” <code>```</code> to block in multiple lines of code.</p>
<pre>
``` html
Sample text here...
```
</pre>
<pre class="giallo" style="color: #E0DEF4; background-color: #191724;"><code data-lang="plain"><span class="giallo-l"><span>Sample text here...</span></span></code></pre>
<p>HTML:</p>
<pre class="giallo" style="color: #E0DEF4; background-color: #191724;"><code data-lang="html"><span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #6E6A86;"><</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">pre</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">></span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #6E6A86;"> <</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">p</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">></span><span>Sample text here...</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;"></</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">p</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">></span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #6E6A86;"></</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">pre</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">></span></span></code></pre><h3 id="syntax-highlighting">Syntax highlighting</h3>
<p>GFM, or “GitHub Flavored Markdown” also supports syntax highlighting. To
activate it, simply add the file extension of the language you want to use
directly after the first code “fence”, <code>``` js</code>, and syntax highlighting
will automatically be applied in the rendered HTML. For example, to apply syntax
highlighting to JavaScript code:</p>
<pre>
``` javascript
grunt.initConfig({
assemble: {
options: {
assets: 'docs/assets',
data: 'src/data/*.{json,yml}',
helpers: 'src/custom-helpers.js',
partials: ['src/partials/**/*.{hbs,md}']
},
pages: {
options: {
layout: 'default.hbs'
},
files: {
'./': ['src/templates/pages/index.hbs']
}
}
}
};
```
</pre>
<p>Renders to:</p>
<pre class="giallo" style="color: #E0DEF4; background-color: #191724;"><code data-lang="javascript"><span class="giallo-l"><span style="font-style: italic;">grunt</span><span style="color: #31748F;">.</span><span style="color: #EBBCBA;">initConfig</span><span>(</span><span style="color: #908CAA;">{</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span> assemble</span><span style="color: #908CAA;">: {</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span> options</span><span style="color: #908CAA;">: {</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span> assets</span><span style="color: #908CAA;">:</span><span style="color: #F6C177;"> 'docs/assets'</span><span style="color: #908CAA;">,</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span> data</span><span style="color: #908CAA;">:</span><span style="color: #F6C177;"> 'src/data/*.{json,yml}'</span><span style="color: #908CAA;">,</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span> helpers</span><span style="color: #908CAA;">:</span><span style="color: #F6C177;"> 'src/custom-helpers.js'</span><span style="color: #908CAA;">,</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span> partials</span><span style="color: #908CAA;">:</span><span> [</span><span style="color: #F6C177;">'src/partials/**/*.{hbs,md}'</span><span>]</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #908CAA;"> },</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span> pages</span><span style="color: #908CAA;">: {</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span> options</span><span style="color: #908CAA;">: {</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span> layout</span><span style="color: #908CAA;">:</span><span style="color: #F6C177;"> 'default.hbs'</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #908CAA;"> },</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span> files</span><span style="color: #908CAA;">: {</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #F6C177;"> './'</span><span style="color: #908CAA;">:</span><span> [</span><span style="color: #F6C177;">'src/templates/pages/index.hbs'</span><span>]</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #908CAA;"> }</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #908CAA;"> }</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #908CAA;"> }</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #908CAA;">}</span><span>;</span></span></code></pre>
<p>And this complicated HTML:</p>
<pre class="giallo" style="color: #E0DEF4; background-color: #191724;"><code data-lang="xml"><span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #6E6A86;"><</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">div</span><span style="color: #C4A7E7;font-style: italic;"> class</span><span>=</span><span style="color: #F6C177;">"highlight"</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">><</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">pre</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">><</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">span</span><span style="color: #C4A7E7;font-style: italic;"> class</span><span>=</span><span style="color: #F6C177;">"nx"</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">></span><span>grunt</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;"></</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">span</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">><</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">span</span><span style="color: #C4A7E7;font-style: italic;"> class</span><span>=</span><span style="color: #F6C177;">"p"</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">></span><span>.</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;"></</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">span</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">><</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">span</span><span style="color: #C4A7E7;font-style: italic;"> class</span><span>=</span><span style="color: #F6C177;">"nx"</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">></span><span>initConfig</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;"></</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">span</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">><</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">span</span><span style="color: #C4A7E7;font-style: italic;"> class</span><span>=</span><span style="color: #F6C177;">"p"</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">></span><span>({</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;"></</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">span</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">></span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #6E6A86;"> <</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">span</span><span style="color: #C4A7E7;font-style: italic;"> class</span><span>=</span><span style="color: #F6C177;">"nx"</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">></span><span>assemble</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;"></</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">span</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">><</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">span</span><span style="color: #C4A7E7;font-style: italic;"> class</span><span>=</span><span style="color: #F6C177;">"o"</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">></span><span>:</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;"></</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">span</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">> <</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">span</span><span style="color: #C4A7E7;font-style: italic;"> class</span><span>=</span><span style="color: #F6C177;">"p"</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">></span><span>{</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;"></</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">span</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">></span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #6E6A86;"> <</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">span</span><span style="color: #C4A7E7;font-style: italic;"> class</span><span>=</span><span style="color: #F6C177;">"nx"</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">></span><span>options</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;"></</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">span</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">><</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">span</span><span style="color: #C4A7E7;font-style: italic;"> class</span><span>=</span><span style="color: #F6C177;">"o"</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">></span><span>:</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;"></</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">span</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">> <</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">span</span><span style="color: #C4A7E7;font-style: italic;"> class</span><span>=</span><span style="color: #F6C177;">"p"</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">></span><span>{</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;"></</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">span</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">></span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #6E6A86;"> <</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">span</span><span style="color: #C4A7E7;font-style: italic;"> class</span><span>=</span><span style="color: #F6C177;">"nx"</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">></span><span>assets</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;"></</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">span</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">><</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">span</span><span style="color: #C4A7E7;font-style: italic;"> class</span><span>=</span><span style="color: #F6C177;">"o"</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">></span><span>:</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;"></</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">span</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">> <</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">span</span><span style="color: #C4A7E7;font-style: italic;"> class</span><span>=</span><span style="color: #F6C177;">"s1"</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">></span><span>'docs/assets'</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;"></</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">span</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">><</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">span</span><span style="color: #C4A7E7;font-style: italic;"> class</span><span>=</span><span style="color: #F6C177;">"p"</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">></span><span>,</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;"></</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">span</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">></span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #6E6A86;"> <</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">span</span><span style="color: #C4A7E7;font-style: italic;"> class</span><span>=</span><span style="color: #F6C177;">"nx"</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">></span><span>data</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;"></</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">span</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">><</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">span</span><span style="color: #C4A7E7;font-style: italic;"> class</span><span>=</span><span style="color: #F6C177;">"o"</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">></span><span>:</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;"></</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">span</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">> <</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">span</span><span style="color: #C4A7E7;font-style: italic;"> class</span><span>=</span><span style="color: #F6C177;">"s1"</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">></span><span>'src/data/*.{json,yml}'</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;"></</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">span</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">><</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">span</span><span style="color: #C4A7E7;font-style: italic;"> class</span><span>=</span><span style="color: #F6C177;">"p"</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">></span><span>,</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;"></</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">span</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">></span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #6E6A86;"> <</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">span</span><span style="color: #C4A7E7;font-style: italic;"> class</span><span>=</span><span style="color: #F6C177;">"nx"</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">></span><span>helpers</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;"></</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">span</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">><</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">span</span><span style="color: #C4A7E7;font-style: italic;"> class</span><span>=</span><span style="color: #F6C177;">"o"</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">></span><span>:</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;"></</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">span</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">> <</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">span</span><span style="color: #C4A7E7;font-style: italic;"> class</span><span>=</span><span style="color: #F6C177;">"s1"</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">></span><span>'src/custom-helpers.js'</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;"></</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">span</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">><</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">span</span><span style="color: #C4A7E7;font-style: italic;"> class</span><span>=</span><span style="color: #F6C177;">"p"</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">></span><span>,</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;"></</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">span</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">></span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #6E6A86;"> <</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">span</span><span style="color: #C4A7E7;font-style: italic;"> class</span><span>=</span><span style="color: #F6C177;">"nx"</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">></span><span>partials</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;"></</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">span</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">><</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">span</span><span style="color: #C4A7E7;font-style: italic;"> class</span><span>=</span><span style="color: #F6C177;">"o"</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">></span><span>:</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;"></</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">span</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">> <</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">span</span><span style="color: #C4A7E7;font-style: italic;"> class</span><span>=</span><span style="color: #F6C177;">"p"</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">></span><span>[</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;"></</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">span</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">><</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">span</span><span style="color: #C4A7E7;font-style: italic;"> class</span><span>=</span><span style="color: #F6C177;">"s1"</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">></span><span>'src/partials/**/*.{hbs,md}'</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;"></</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">span</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">><</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">span</span><span style="color: #C4A7E7;font-style: italic;"> class</span><span>=</span><span style="color: #F6C177;">"p"</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">></span><span>]</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;"></</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">span</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">></span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #6E6A86;"> <</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">span</span><span style="color: #C4A7E7;font-style: italic;"> class</span><span>=</span><span style="color: #F6C177;">"p"</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">></span><span>},</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;"></</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">span</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">></span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #6E6A86;"> <</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">span</span><span style="color: #C4A7E7;font-style: italic;"> class</span><span>=</span><span style="color: #F6C177;">"nx"</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">></span><span>pages</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;"></</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">span</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">><</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">span</span><span style="color: #C4A7E7;font-style: italic;"> class</span><span>=</span><span style="color: #F6C177;">"o"</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">></span><span>:</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;"></</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">span</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">> <</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">span</span><span style="color: #C4A7E7;font-style: italic;"> class</span><span>=</span><span style="color: #F6C177;">"p"</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">></span><span>{</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;"></</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">span</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">></span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #6E6A86;"> <</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">span</span><span style="color: #C4A7E7;font-style: italic;"> class</span><span>=</span><span style="color: #F6C177;">"nx"</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">></span><span>options</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;"></</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">span</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">><</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">span</span><span style="color: #C4A7E7;font-style: italic;"> class</span><span>=</span><span style="color: #F6C177;">"o"</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">></span><span>:</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;"></</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">span</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">> <</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">span</span><span style="color: #C4A7E7;font-style: italic;"> class</span><span>=</span><span style="color: #F6C177;">"p"</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">></span><span>{</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;"></</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">span</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">></span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #6E6A86;"> <</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">span</span><span style="color: #C4A7E7;font-style: italic;"> class</span><span>=</span><span style="color: #F6C177;">"nx"</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">></span><span>layout</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;"></</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">span</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">><</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">span</span><span style="color: #C4A7E7;font-style: italic;"> class</span><span>=</span><span style="color: #F6C177;">"o"</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">></span><span>:</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;"></</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">span</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">> <</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">span</span><span style="color: #C4A7E7;font-style: italic;"> class</span><span>=</span><span style="color: #F6C177;">"s1"</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">></span><span>'default.hbs'</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;"></</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">span</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">></span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #6E6A86;"> <</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">span</span><span style="color: #C4A7E7;font-style: italic;"> class</span><span>=</span><span style="color: #F6C177;">"p"</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">></span><span>},</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;"></</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">span</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">></span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #6E6A86;"> <</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">span</span><span style="color: #C4A7E7;font-style: italic;"> class</span><span>=</span><span style="color: #F6C177;">"nx"</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">></span><span>files</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;"></</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">span</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">><</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">span</span><span style="color: #C4A7E7;font-style: italic;"> class</span><span>=</span><span style="color: #F6C177;">"o"</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">></span><span>:</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;"></</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">span</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">> <</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">span</span><span style="color: #C4A7E7;font-style: italic;"> class</span><span>=</span><span style="color: #F6C177;">"p"</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">></span><span>{</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;"></</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">span</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">></span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #6E6A86;"> <</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">span</span><span style="color: #C4A7E7;font-style: italic;"> class</span><span>=</span><span style="color: #F6C177;">"s1"</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">></span><span>'./'</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;"></</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">span</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">><</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">span</span><span style="color: #C4A7E7;font-style: italic;"> class</span><span>=</span><span style="color: #F6C177;">"o"</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">></span><span>:</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;"></</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">span</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">> <</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">span</span><span style="color: #C4A7E7;font-style: italic;"> class</span><span>=</span><span style="color: #F6C177;">"p"</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">></span><span>[</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;"></</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">span</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">><</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">span</span><span style="color: #C4A7E7;font-style: italic;"> class</span><span>=</span><span style="color: #F6C177;">"s1"</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">></span><span>'src/templates/pages/index.hbs'</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;"></</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">span</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">><</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">span</span><span style="color: #C4A7E7;font-style: italic;"> class</span><span>=</span><span style="color: #F6C177;">"p"</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">></span><span>]</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;"></</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">span</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">></span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #6E6A86;"> <</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">span</span><span style="color: #C4A7E7;font-style: italic;"> class</span><span>=</span><span style="color: #F6C177;">"p"</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">></span><span>}</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;"></</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">span</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">></span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #6E6A86;"> <</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">span</span><span style="color: #C4A7E7;font-style: italic;"> class</span><span>=</span><span style="color: #F6C177;">"p"</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">></span><span>}</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;"></</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">span</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">></span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #6E6A86;"> <</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">span</span><span style="color: #C4A7E7;font-style: italic;"> class</span><span>=</span><span style="color: #F6C177;">"p"</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">></span><span>}</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;"></</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">span</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">></span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #6E6A86;"><</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">span</span><span style="color: #C4A7E7;font-style: italic;"> class</span><span>=</span><span style="color: #F6C177;">"p"</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">></span><span>};</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;"></</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">span</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">></span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #6E6A86;"></</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">pre</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">></</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">div</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">></span></span></code></pre><h2 id="tables">Tables</h2>
<p>Tables are created by adding pipes as dividers between each cell, and by adding
a line of dashes (also separated by bars) beneath the header. Note that the
pipes do not need to be vertically aligned.</p>
<pre class="giallo" style="color: #E0DEF4; background-color: #191724;"><code data-lang="markdown"><span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #908CAA;">|</span><span> Option</span><span style="color: #908CAA;"> |</span><span> Description</span><span style="color: #908CAA;"> |</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #908CAA;">| ------ | ------------------------------------------------------------------------- |</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #908CAA;">|</span><span> data</span><span style="color: #908CAA;"> |</span><span> path to data files to supply the data that will be passed into templates.</span><span style="color: #908CAA;"> |</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #908CAA;">|</span><span> engine</span><span style="color: #908CAA;"> |</span><span> engine to be used for processing templates. Handlebars is the default.</span><span style="color: #908CAA;"> |</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #908CAA;">|</span><span> ext</span><span style="color: #908CAA;"> |</span><span> extension to be used for dest files.</span><span style="color: #908CAA;"> |</span></span></code></pre>
<p>Renders to:</p>
<table><thead><tr><th>Option</th><th>Description</th></tr></thead><tbody>
<tr><td>data</td><td>path to data files to supply the data that will be passed into templates.</td></tr>
<tr><td>engine</td><td>engine to be used for processing templates. Handlebars is the default.</td></tr>
<tr><td>ext</td><td>extension to be used for dest files.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<p>And this HTML:</p>
<pre class="giallo" style="color: #E0DEF4; background-color: #191724;"><code data-lang="html"><span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #6E6A86;"><</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">table</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">></span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #6E6A86;"> <</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">tr</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">></span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #6E6A86;"> <</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">th</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">></span><span>Option</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;"></</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">th</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">></span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #6E6A86;"> <</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">th</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">></span><span>Description</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;"></</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">th</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">></span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #6E6A86;"> </</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">tr</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">></span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #6E6A86;"> <</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">tr</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">></span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #6E6A86;"> <</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">td</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">></span><span>data</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;"></</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">td</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">></span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #6E6A86;"> <</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">td</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">></span><span>path to data files to supply the data that will be passed into templates.</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;"></</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">td</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">></span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #6E6A86;"> </</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">tr</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">></span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #6E6A86;"> <</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">tr</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">></span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #6E6A86;"> <</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">td</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">></span><span>engine</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;"></</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">td</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">></span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #6E6A86;"> <</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">td</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">></span><span>engine to be used for processing templates. Handlebars is the default.</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;"></</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">td</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">></span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #6E6A86;"> </</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">tr</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">></span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #6E6A86;"> <</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">tr</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">></span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #6E6A86;"> <</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">td</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">></span><span>ext</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;"></</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">td</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">></span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #6E6A86;"> <</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">td</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">></span><span>extension to be used for dest files.</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;"></</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">td</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">></span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #6E6A86;"> </</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">tr</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">></span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #6E6A86;"></</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">table</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">></span></span></code></pre><h3 id="right-aligned-text">Right aligned text</h3>
<p>Adding a colon on the right side of the dashes below any heading will right
align text for that column.</p>
<pre class="giallo" style="color: #E0DEF4; background-color: #191724;"><code data-lang="markdown"><span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #908CAA;">|</span><span> Option</span><span style="color: #908CAA;"> |</span><span> Description</span><span style="color: #908CAA;"> |</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #908CAA;">| -----: | ------------------------------------------------------------------------: |</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #908CAA;">|</span><span> data</span><span style="color: #908CAA;"> |</span><span> path to data files to supply the data that will be passed into templates.</span><span style="color: #908CAA;"> |</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #908CAA;">|</span><span> engine</span><span style="color: #908CAA;"> |</span><span> engine to be used for processing templates. Handlebars is the default.</span><span style="color: #908CAA;"> |</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #908CAA;">|</span><span> ext</span><span style="color: #908CAA;"> |</span><span> extension to be used for dest files.</span><span style="color: #908CAA;"> |</span></span></code></pre><table><thead><tr><th style="text-align: right">Option</th><th style="text-align: right">Description</th></tr></thead><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: right">data</td><td style="text-align: right">path to data files to supply the data that will be passed into templates.</td></tr>
<tr><td style="text-align: right">engine</td><td style="text-align: right">engine to be used for processing templates. Handlebars is the default.</td></tr>
<tr><td style="text-align: right">ext</td><td style="text-align: right">extension to be used for dest files.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<h2 id="links">Links</h2>
<h3 id="basic-link">Basic link</h3>
<pre class="giallo" style="color: #E0DEF4; background-color: #191724;"><code data-lang="markdown"><span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #908CAA;">[</span><span style="color: #F6C177;">Assemble</span><span style="color: #908CAA;">](</span><span>http://assemble.io</span><span style="color: #908CAA;">)</span></span></code></pre>
<p>Renders to (hover over the link, there is no tooltip):</p>
<p><a class="external-link" rel="noopener external" target="_blank" href="http://assemble.io">Assemble</a></p>
<p>HTML:</p>
<pre class="giallo" style="color: #E0DEF4; background-color: #191724;"><code data-lang="html"><span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #6E6A86;"><</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">a</span><span style="color: #C4A7E7;font-style: italic;"> href</span><span style="color: #908CAA;">=</span><span style="color: #F6C177;">"http://assemble.io"</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">></span><span>Assemble</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;"></</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">a</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">></span></span></code></pre><h3 id="add-a-title">Add a title</h3>
<pre class="giallo" style="color: #E0DEF4; background-color: #191724;"><code data-lang="markdown"><span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #908CAA;">[</span><span style="color: #F6C177;">Upstage</span><span style="color: #908CAA;">](</span><span>https://github.com/upstage/</span><span style="color: #F6C177;"> "Visit Upstage!"</span><span style="color: #908CAA;">)</span></span></code></pre>
<p>Renders to (hover over the link, there should be a tooltip):</p>
<p><a class="external-link" rel="noopener external" target="_blank" title="Visit Upstage!" href="https://github.com/upstage/">Upstage</a></p>
<p>HTML:</p>
<pre class="giallo" style="color: #E0DEF4; background-color: #191724;"><code data-lang="html"><span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #6E6A86;"><</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">a</span><span style="color: #C4A7E7;font-style: italic;"> href</span><span style="color: #908CAA;">=</span><span style="color: #F6C177;">"https://github.com/upstage/"</span><span style="color: #C4A7E7;font-style: italic;"> title</span><span style="color: #908CAA;">=</span><span style="color: #F6C177;">"Visit Upstage!"</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">></span><span>Upstage</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;"></</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;">a</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;">></span></span></code></pre><h3 id="named-anchors">Named Anchors</h3>
<p>Named anchors enable you to jump to the specified anchor point on the same page.
For example, each of these chapters:</p>
<!-- rumdl-disable MD051 MD052 -->
<pre class="giallo" style="color: #E0DEF4; background-color: #191724;"><code data-lang="markdown"><span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #908CAA;font-weight: bold;">#</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;font-weight: bold;"> Table of Contents</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #908CAA;">- [</span><span style="color: #F6C177;">Chapter 1</span><span style="color: #908CAA;">](</span><span>#chapter-1</span><span style="color: #908CAA;">)</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #908CAA;">- [</span><span style="color: #F6C177;">Chapter 2</span><span style="color: #908CAA;">](</span><span>#chapter-2</span><span style="color: #908CAA;">)</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #908CAA;">- [</span><span style="color: #F6C177;">Chapter 3</span><span style="color: #908CAA;">](</span><span>#chapter-3</span><span style="color: #908CAA;">)</span></span></code></pre>
<p>will jump to these sections:</p>
<pre class="giallo" style="color: #E0DEF4; background-color: #191724;"><code data-lang="markdown"><span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #908CAA;font-weight: bold;">##</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;font-weight: bold;"> Chapter 1 </span><span style="color: #6E6A86;font-weight: bold;"><</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;font-weight: bold;">a</span><span style="color: #C4A7E7;font-style: italic;"> id</span><span style="color: #908CAA;font-weight: bold;">=</span><span style="color: #F6C177;font-weight: bold;">"chapter-1"</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;font-weight: bold;">></</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;font-weight: bold;">a</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;font-weight: bold;">></span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span>Content for chapter one.</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #908CAA;font-weight: bold;">##</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;font-weight: bold;"> Chapter 2 </span><span style="color: #6E6A86;font-weight: bold;"><</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;font-weight: bold;">a</span><span style="color: #C4A7E7;font-style: italic;"> id</span><span style="color: #908CAA;font-weight: bold;">=</span><span style="color: #F6C177;font-weight: bold;">"chapter-2"</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;font-weight: bold;">></</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;font-weight: bold;">a</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;font-weight: bold;">></span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span>Content for chapter one.</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #908CAA;font-weight: bold;">##</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;font-weight: bold;"> Chapter 3 </span><span style="color: #6E6A86;font-weight: bold;"><</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;font-weight: bold;">a</span><span style="color: #C4A7E7;font-style: italic;"> id</span><span style="color: #908CAA;font-weight: bold;">=</span><span style="color: #F6C177;font-weight: bold;">"chapter-3"</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;font-weight: bold;">></</span><span style="color: #9CCFD8;font-weight: bold;">a</span><span style="color: #6E6A86;font-weight: bold;">></span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span>Content for chapter one.</span></span></code></pre>
<p><strong>NOTE</strong> that specific placement of the anchor tag seems to be arbitrary. They
are placed inline here since it seems to be unobtrusive, and it works.</p>
<h2 id="images">Images</h2>
<p>Images have a similar syntax to links but include a preceding exclamation point.</p>
<pre class="giallo" style="color: #E0DEF4; background-color: #191724;"><code data-lang="markdown"><span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #908CAA;">![</span><span style="color: #F6C177;">Minion</span><span style="color: #908CAA;">](</span><span>http://octodex.github.com/images/minion.png</span><span style="color: #908CAA;">)</span></span></code></pre>
<p><img src="http://octodex.github.com/images/minion.png" alt="Minion" /></p>
<p>or</p>
<pre class="giallo" style="color: #E0DEF4; background-color: #191724;"><code data-lang="markdown"><span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #908CAA;">![</span><span style="color: #F6C177;">Alt text</span><span style="color: #908CAA;">](</span><span>http://octodex.github.com/images/stormtroopocat.jpg</span><span style="color: #F6C177;"> 'The Stormtroopocat'</span><span style="color: #908CAA;">)</span></span></code></pre>
<p><img src="http://octodex.github.com/images/stormtroopocat.jpg" alt="Alt text" title="The Stormtroopocat" /></p>
<p>Like links, Images also have a footnote style syntax</p>
<pre class="giallo" style="color: #E0DEF4; background-color: #191724;"><code data-lang="markdown"><span class="giallo-l"><span style="color: #908CAA;">![</span><span style="color: #F6C177;">Alt text</span><span style="color: #908CAA;">][</span><span style="color: #31748F;">id</span><span style="color: #908CAA;">]</span></span></code></pre>
<p><img src="http://octodex.github.com/images/dojocat.jpg" alt="Alt text" title="The Dojocat" /></p>
<p>With a reference later in the document defining the URL location:</p>
<pre class="giallo" style="color: #E0DEF4; background-color: #191724;"><code data-lang="plain"><span class="giallo-l"><span>[id]: http://octodex.github.com/images/dojocat.jpg "The Dojocat"</span></span></code></pre><!-- rumdl-enable MD051 MD052 -->
Magento 1.7 NGINX configuration2012-10-01T22:40:32.169+00:002012-10-01T22:40:32.169+00:00
Joost van der Laan
https://joostvanderlaan.nl/2012-10-01-magento-1-7-nginx-configuration/<p>This config works for Magento version 1.7:</p>
<pre class="giallo" style="color: #E0DEF4; background-color: #191724;"><code data-lang="plain"><span class="giallo-l"><span>server {</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span> listen 80 deferred;</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span> server_name example.com;</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span> root /usr/share/nginx/magentofolder;</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span> location / {</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span> index index.html index.php; ## Allow a static html file to be shown first</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span> try_files $uri $uri/ @handler; ## If missing pass the URI to Magento's front handler</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span> }</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span> location /admin/ {</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span> client_body_timeout 3600;</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span> keepalive_timeout 3600 3600;</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span> send_timeout 3600;</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span> auth_basic "Restricted"; ## Message shown in login window</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span> auth_basic_user_file htpasswd; ## See /etc/nginx/htpassword</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span> autoindex on;</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span> }</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span> ## These locations would be hidden by .htaccess normally</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span> location /app/ { deny all; }</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span> location /includes/ { deny all; }</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span> location /lib/ { deny all; }</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span> location /media/downloadable/ { deny all; }</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span> location /pkginfo/ { deny all; }</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span> location /report/config.xml { deny all; }</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span> location /var/ { deny all; }</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span> location /lib/minify/ { allow all; } ## Deny is applied after rewrites so must specifically allow minify</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span> location /var/export/ { ## Allow admins only to view export folder</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span> auth_basic "Restricted"; ## Message shown in login window</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span> auth_basic_user_file htpasswd; ## See /etc/nginx/htpassword</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span> autoindex on;</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span> }</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span> #### only use this if you use MAGMI</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span> location /magmi/ {</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span> auth_basic "Restricted"; ## Message shown in login window</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span> auth_basic_user_file htpasswd; ## See /etc/nginx/htpassword</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span> autoindex on;</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span> }</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span> location @handler { ## Magento uses a common front handler</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span> rewrite / /index.php;</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span> }</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span> location ~ .php/ { ## Forward paths like /js/index.php/x.js to relevant handler</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span> rewrite ^(.*.php)/ $1 last;</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span> }</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span> location ~ .php$ { ## Execute PHP scripts</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span> # Zero-day exploit defense.</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span> # http://forum.nginx.org/read.php?2,88845,page=3</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span> # Won't work properly (404 error) if the file is not stored on this server, which is entirely possible with php-fpm/php-fcgi.</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span> # Comment the 'try_files' line out if you set up php-fpm/php-fcgi on another machine. And then cross your fingers that you won't get hacked.</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span> try_files $uri =404;</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span> expires off; ## Do not cache dynamic content</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span> fastcgi_pass phpcgi;</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span> fastcgi_index index.php;</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span> #fastcgi_param HTTPS $fastcgi_https;</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span> fastcgi_param SCRIPT_FILENAME $document_root$fastcgi_script_name;</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span> fastcgi_param MAGE_RUN_CODE default; ## Store code is defined in administration > Configuration > Manage Stores</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span> fastcgi_param MAGE_RUN_TYPE store;</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span> include fastcgi_params; ## See /etc/nginx/fastcgi_param</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span> fastcgi_param HTTPS on; #otherwize Magento doesn't know it's https and you'll create a redirect loop</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span>}</span></span>
<span class="giallo-l"></span>
<span class="giallo-l"><span>}</span></span></code></pre>
<p>via Magento.</p>