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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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126 - 150 of 498 Reviews for Model Thinking

By Iftikhar A K

Sep 29, 2016

A very good course. Need time to be completed. It should continue on and lectures should be available every time regarless of end of quizez or assignments.

By A M

Sep 6, 2016

I enjoyed this course a lot; it is very comprehensive and let you gain a lot of perspective through the models discussed in it and how you can apply those.

By Prakash H

Apr 20, 2020

I have downloaded all the videos and even the lecture notes (as well prepared one). Greatly helpful to my profession. Thank you for this wonderful course.

By Omar S

Aug 7, 2017

Well done, the professor has a great personality which makes it fun to understand the topics. Using math to solve practical real life problems. Amazing!

By Wu S

Dec 23, 2020

very interesting topics covered in the course, serves as a good starting ground on model thinking, and to delve deeper into some of the models mentioned!

By Adhiraaj S

May 2, 2020

Excellent course with in-detail reference material and a great teacher who makes difficult concepts very easy to comprehend with interesting examples!

By Fabio M

May 3, 2020

This is a great course for multiple application areas and skill levels. The topic is important for everyone, regardless of background and objectives.

By Clemens S

Jun 8, 2016

Succinct, useful in day to day life, easy to understand and yet complex. A great course I would recommend to everybody (and frequently do recommend).

By Annabella R

Dec 6, 2016

Il loved this course-- what I could finish of it. I come back to it again and again. Clear, great referernces and resources..and excellent Profes

By Ketevan K

Apr 25, 2021

Course was super interesting ! I am equipped with the critical skills for modern life :

Modeling, Economics, Decision-Making, Strategic Thinking ;

By Nora I

Apr 20, 2021

Very good courses with examples that allowed me to understand the different concepts, especially as I am not a mathematician. Thank you Professor.

By Dhaval B

Jun 12, 2020

I really enjoyed taking this course. If you are looking to improve your thinking skills, understand the world better. You should take this course

By Bojan K

Jun 11, 2019

Don't let the length of the course discourage you. It is worth it by the end. Very informative and useful in both professional and personal life.

By Weigeng L

Jan 19, 2018

A really useful and interesting lesson. Learning through numbers of simple but meaningful models, providing me an introduction to model thinking.

By Anton O

Jun 5, 2017

Great lectures, but I would appreciate the course much more if it went deeper into the mathematics and how to model things from that perspective.

By 庄宇州

Oct 6, 2015

It’s really funny,and we can learn a lot from this course,even without any awareness.Just a few words that we cannot get it indeed frustrated us.

By Eduardo M C

Oct 5, 2019

Excelente curso. Aprendí bastante de los tipos de modelos que existen las realidades en las que se pueden aplicar y cómo aplicarlos. Sigan así!

By Pecherskikh A

Sep 3, 2020

Despite I had a "theory construction & model building" course at my university, it was still a pleasure to go through these lectures, thanks!

By Aloys F T

Jun 28, 2016

My favorite course of all time.. It has a lot of interesting concepts and a fascinating perspective on this weird thing the world/society is.

By Aelita M

Nov 30, 2015

A comprehensive course that goes into different areas of science to demonstrate why and how modeling is used. Fun to watch and very clear!

By krishna m

Jun 28, 2019

Excellent course to understand how to use different models to think and make decisions, in general and in a work setting, in particular.

By Cliff S

Sep 18, 2016

Excellent course, wide scale application, highly recommend.

Also :

-clear presentation

-no technical issues with quizzes or content issues

By Armand R

Apr 9, 2016

Eye-opening cross-disciplinary program with an outstanding teacher. Cannot be better, thank you Internet for bringing this to everyone.

By Saishankar S

Jul 28, 2020

This is a 5 Star course that really makes a person "more intelligent" and better at understanding the world and real-life situations.

By Alan Z

Jun 7, 2016

Very cool course shows me how to model many real world examples, tons of modeling techniques, and most importantly, how to think inde