This article is from 2018 and is on the front page of hacker news.
Although "mental models" are a myth, I was reminded of one of my favorite quotes:
“Contingencies contain reasons which rules can never specify.” –B.F. Skinner
commoncog.com/blog/the-menta
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That's a good quote. Thank you.
(I should note that 'mental models', in a Piaget sense, aren't a myth. I object merely to the faddish use of the term.)
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Personally, I'm a bit of an odd duck, and reject mentalistic explanations entirely. Because of it I have been called a Skinnerian, but I'd say that's far more dismissive than decisive or detrimental. Developmentalism, like the other horticultural metaphors, is out for me too.
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You could say I object to the faddish use of the term "mind" or "mental", but it's a fad that's much older than most modern cultures.
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If it works for you, and it allows you to achieve your goals, why ever not?
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It is not only easier to inspect the selective role of the environment rather than to introspect the mind, but it's also more effective as an aid changing behavior without having to "change minds".
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One reason not to is if I'm wrong. That is, if it is inaccurate or ineffective for me to reject mentalistic explanations, then I shall go back to them as fast as I can.
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The ways in which we talk about what we do change what we're likely to do. If I was the only person in the world then how I talk about it would have no consequence to anyone else: but I'm not alone, you're here too. How we talk about the world changes our shared world.
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Sorry, I realise my original tweet wasn't accurate. I was saying that if you reject mentalistic explanations and it works for you, I think that's cool!
I'm not sure I would go so far as you have, but I'm pragmatic at heart, and agree with the spirit of your approach.
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How do you deal with the kind of incompatibility introduced by you saying "Piaget mental models are not a myth" and my saying "all mental models are a myth"?
I'm more interested in how you came to say "Piaget mental models are a myth"
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It's simple: knowledge is action.
You say that all mental models are a myth. If that works for you, that's great.
I have already found Piaget/Papert's approach useful for teaching. It leads to better outcomes whenever I use it for training. It is useful to me, and I keep it.
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This suggests that you are not threatened by this particular incompatibility of principle: what do you do when such incompatibilities are a threat?
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