Model Thinking
- Platform: Coursera
- Length:4 to 8 hours of work per week, over 20 weeks
- Time commitment/Pre-requisites: Students should be very comfortable with basic algebra. Calculus isn’t necessary but a conceptual understanding of how derivatives give the slope at a point proves useful.
- Why you should consider it:You will learn how to think with models and use them to make sense of the complex world around us. Evidence shows that people who think with models consistently outperform those who don’t. And, moreover people who think with lots of models outperform people who use only one. Why do models make us better thinkers? Models help us to better organise information – to make sense of that fire hose or hairball of data (choose your metaphor) available on the Internet. Models improve our abilities to make accurate forecasts. They help us make better decisions and adopt more effective strategies. They can even improve our ability to design institutions and procedures.