# Learn to Think Using Thought Experiments  ## Metadata - Author: [[Patrick King]] - Full Title: Learn to Think Using Thought Experiments - Category: #books ## Highlights - the experiment is a mental tool so immense, so valuable, and so central to the survival of our species that it’s hard to imagine where we’d be without it. ([Location 74](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B085X99KWN&location=74)) - some of the best experiments can be done with nothing more than your mind. ([Location 84](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B085X99KWN&location=84)) - what exactly constitutes a thought experiment? ([Location 118](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B085X99KWN&location=118)) - A big part of a thought experiment is thoroughly considering the consequences and implications of certain conditions, actions or choices. ([Location 121](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B085X99KWN&location=121)) - Thought experiments require us to apply our imagination, to entertain hypotheticals, and follow through potential outcomes and ramifications without actually trying them out for “real.” ([Location 126](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B085X99KWN&location=126)) - Essentially, a thought experiment allows us to carry out “tests,” but in the laboratory of our minds. ([Location 132](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B085X99KWN&location=132)) - They are used by philosophers to investigate what beliefs we hold to be true ([Location 160](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B085X99KWN&location=160)) - thought experiments teach us to think. ([Location 162](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B085X99KWN&location=162))