The many-model thinker
Why model?
The science of many models
Modeling human actors
Normal distributions : the bell curve
Power-law distributions : long tails
Linear models
Concavity and convexity
Models of value and power
Network models
Broadcast, diffusion, and contagion
Entropy : modeling uncertainty
Random walks
Path dependence
Local interaction models
Lyapunov functions and equilibria
Markov models
Systems dynamics models
Threshold models with feedbacks
Spatial and hedonic choice
Game theory models times three
Models of cooperation
Collective action problems
Mechanism design
Signaling models
Models of learning
Multi-armed bandit problems
Rugged-landscape models
Opioids, inequality, and humility

From the stock market to genomics laboratories, census figures to marketing email blasts, we are awash with data. But as anyone who has ever opened up a spreadsheet packed with seemingly infinite lines of data knows, numbers aren't enough: we need to know how to make those numbers talk. In The Model Thinker, social scientist Scott E. Page shows us the mathematical, statistical, and computational models--from linear regression to random walks and far beyond--that can turn anyone into a genius. At the core of the book is Page's "many-model paradigm," which shows the reader how to apply multiple models to organize the data, leading to wiser choices, more accurate predictions, and more robust designs. The Model Thinker provides a toolkit for business people, students, scientists, pollsters, and bloggers to make them better, clearer thinkers, able to leverage data and information to their advantage.