Replicate with enough flexibility to change the copy to meet your needs

Summary

• Replication (such as DNA replication) should be accurate enough that it keeps the information, but flexible enough to handle mistakes in the dupliation or changes in environment

Details

• We can use existing ideas but adjust them for our specific needs.

References

• The Great Mental Models Volume 2 - Physics, Chemistry and Biology

Quotes

Replication as a mental model teaches us that we don’t always need to reinvent the wheel. Often a good starting point is what others are doing. Once you get a sense and a feel for the environment you can adapt to better suit your own needs. What we need to remember is that effective replication requires enough structure and space to produce a copy, but enough flexibility to adapt that copy to changes in the environment. Just because something has worked for a while doesn’t mean that it will continue to be effective in perpetuity. Maintaining a successful approach requires an ability to grow and modify that approach as required.

Related

• Flexible focus better than relentless focus
• Be stubborn about your goals but flexible about your methods
• For effective habit change, you must be flexible
• Have maximum financial flexibility to face both hazards and opportunities - Charlie Munger