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Learner Reviews & Feedback for Model Thinking by University of Michigan

4.8
stars
2,202 ratings

About the Course

We live in a complex world with diverse people, firms, and governments whose behaviors aggregate to produce novel, unexpected phenomena. We see political uprisings, market crashes, and a never ending array of social trends. How do we make sense of it? Models. 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 organize 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 even can improve our ability to design institutions and procedures. In this class, I present a starter kit of models: I start with models of tipping points. I move on to cover models explain the wisdom of crowds, models that show why some countries are rich and some are poor, and models that help unpack the strategic decisions of firm and politicians. The models covered in this class provide a foundation for future social science classes, whether they be in economics, political science, business, or sociology. Mastering this material will give you a huge leg up in advanced courses. They also help you in life. Here's how the course will work. For each model, I present a short, easily digestible overview lecture. Then, I'll dig deeper. I'll go into the technical details of the model. Those technical lectures won't require calculus but be prepared for some algebra. For all the lectures, I'll offer some questions and we'll have quizzes and even a final exam. If you decide to do the deep dive, and take all the quizzes and the exam, you'll receive a Course Certificate. If you just decide to follow along for the introductory lectures to gain some exposure that's fine too. It's all free. And it's all here to help make you a better thinker!...

Top reviews

AA

Nov 23, 2020

very informative and insightful on how to use the various models at our disposal to take optimal decision. Also, was nostalgic to go back in time where these models were part of my university degree.

GK

Feb 24, 2017

Great content and lectures, that possibly provides new dimensions to look/explain the situation in context, I guess I will comeback for references to continue with this journey in to 'Model Thinking'

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76 - 100 of 498 Reviews for Model Thinking

By Qu L

Jun 22, 2017

This is a good course to inspire my model thinking. The models in this class include daily situations. Our decisions usually follow a pattern that we may not notice. Study of this course helps me better think critically and make decisions in real-life situation.

By Alfaisal J

Oct 15, 2016

One of the best courses ever on and offline at any University I've been to. Only way to have got it better would have been to do assignments, but I suspect it may have caused a drop in the total number of users participating. Super Excellent course!

By alexpazsoldan

Feb 13, 2016

Scott Page does a great job explaining the use of models. In this course you will get an overview of a lot of different models, how to use them, how to construct them and why models are so useful.

The world of the minde and thoughts...at it's best

By 王颖亮

Sep 13, 2018

This course can enrich one's pluralistic thinking and grant us a wide range of tools in perceiving the world and phenomenons associated with it. Please access to and read through all materials given in the syllabus to make full use of this course.

By Akhil S

Mar 15, 2016

This is a great introductory course for someone who wants to understand what modeling really is and what are some of the tools and techniques used to come up with a model. This might even pique your curiosity to other advance underlying subjects.

By quanling_hw@hotmail.com

Jun 10, 2019

内容的确非常多,非常庞杂。但很有帮助,我不敢确定自己以后都能记得住(虽然在本子上记录很多),但我相信遇到问题后不会总是从直觉做判断了。it is very helpful, and it is very abundant. I am not sure how many I locked in my brain, but I believe instinct judgement will only be a small part of my further distinguishing

By C H

Apr 10, 2019

AWESOME!

The day I started the course I thought like 'well, maybe i will look through several lectures', but during the course i understood that i was wrong. The course is super useful and interesting! Especially for engineer guys like myself.

By Marcel

Feb 8, 2020

I have taken many Coursera courses, and Model Thinking is one of the best! Each week, you learn two new models, and over time, you see how you can become a better, more effective thinker by *combining* different models. Highly recommended!

By José R B R F

Mar 10, 2017

This is a very good course for many people. From engineers (I am one myself) to economists and policy makers, there is always something usefull. Also, the classes are fun to watch! I had a great time and learned a great deal. Thanks!

By Dave S

Mar 31, 2017

This was a fantastically nuanced, and challenging course. Out of all of the MOOCs I've done so far, this has really changed the way I see events around me and has led me to look for patterns in things I've never considered before.

By Hans D K

Sep 20, 2019

Excellent course to join the world of modelling (and big data). Very useful for marketing or regulatory/government affairs. Looking forward to deepening my modelling skills and applying them to real-life situations professionally.

By Charles C W

Jul 22, 2019

This course changed the way I think about many issues. The professor's enthusiasm was infectious and the quizzes contributed to the learning process. Only request would be for additional, higher level courses on the same topic.

By Callum H

Dec 19, 2017

I took this course at the University of Michigan and used the Coursera version as a study aid. This has been one of the most interesting and thought provoking classes I have taken in my academic career. Thank you Professor Page.

By Peter M

Jul 10, 2016

What a refreshing portfolio of perspectives on modelling! This course answered a lot of questions that I've been accumulating overtime in the 'unanswered' log in my brain. Doing this course felt like a long overdue spring clean.

By Matt M

Dec 30, 2021

I appreciated this course's focus on providing students the tools to become a many model thinker. I found the content enlightening because of fresh insights it provided to previous coursework I took in economics and statistics.

By Valeriy N

Jun 14, 2020

The course is a great introduction to a fascinating world of modeling. It beautifully combines theory and practical application that encourages thinking about the world in a new, logical, and intelligent way. Highly recommend!

By 玹

May 9, 2023

I was amazed by being introduced to many ineresting models.There is no doubt that I gain clarity towards better decision-making and less compexity on evaluating the data in my personal life experiences with models in hand.

By Steve L

May 12, 2019

This is a great and challenging course for anyone who wants to learn and explore the fast changing world. The principles provided in this course serve as a strong foundation for us to be more productive as a global citizen.

By Gustavo S

Apr 2, 2018

Great professor and resources, relevant concepts about different Thinking Models, Markov, Lyapunov, Blotto, Linear, Categorial, Nash Equilibrium, Paretto Efficiency, etc.

Useful to apply on workplace and daily life as well...

By Fausto B D S T

Sep 2, 2022

This is a great course. It shows the importance of being able to use different (formal, math) models and builds good fundamentals for those who want to go deeper. It also opens up your mind and is really fun. Just do it!

By KeLi

Mar 31, 2017

The most inspiring course I've ever watched. Millions of thanks and respect to professor Page. I will absolutely watch it again until I understand everything he says and be capable of explaining the models to my friends.

By Ameer U A K

Dec 11, 2019

An excellent course but to apply this practically would require one to be flexible in their understanding of the concepts and fit them into their current work and this is doable (a little bit of thinking out of the box)

By Davide G

Jul 2, 2020

Even if you already have a strong math background, this course will open your eyes: it will provide you with extremely useful tools to think clearly about important problems. Scott is a great teacher, 100% recommended.

By antonio q

Jan 22, 2020

A very good training, really pushed me to think in model terms, looking at most of the life aspect and see correlations, maybe causations, being challenged to use more models at once, I highly recommend this course

By Alexey M

Mar 19, 2016

It is really great course!

Thanks for making it available.

I think it is course that everybody should take before going into machine learning/data science. It may help you to make better sense of what you will learn.