The course is pretty comprehensive and covers a lot of ground, but the speed is too fast if you do not have a pretty good grasp of math/statistics. For me this course is un-doable without it. I'm going to take a statistics class first. I might enroll again after I've done just that.

too much theory and not nearly enough practical models that I can use in my life or work. Disappointed so much of the class was spent on describing many different models instead of focusing on ones that can be applied readily.

I loved this course.

I followed this course to prepare myself for teaching a similar course at the HZ University of Applied Sciences in the Netherlands.

This MOOC suits me perfectly to flip the classroom. Students study the videos offered by professor Page before they come to class. In class, I organize workshops that take about three hours during which the models are discussed and applied in groups of up to four students. Having a big classroom available with whiteboards all around the walls is a big plus. Standing really makes people's mind moving.

At the end of each workshop, students have to do an assignment that closely relates to the topics that arose during the workshop. Together, all these assignments make up the portfolio wherein students keep track of their learning process and reflect on their learning experience.

I wish everybody a happy thoughtful day,

Frank Peeters

Senior Lecturer at the HZ University of Applied Sciences in the Netherlands

frank.peeters@hz.nl

This is an outstanding course on the many model approach to problem solving. I got way more than I expected from the course - I did not expect to see coverage of agent based modeling, linear models, tipping points, and game theory in one course. I also got less than I wanted as we went along. Each class was a short trailer on the models and many a times I wanted to know more. I at least know what to explore, which is not a bad outcome for a course you can complete quite quickly. Professor Page's enthusiasm for the models and the need to cycle information through multiple models is infectious, informative and ultimately very inspiring.

The course touches on a wide variety of topics, while keeping a clear focus. The presentations are fun to watch and Prof. Scott presents with enthusiasm and presents interesting examples where the models apply in day to day life. The syllabus adds some interesting leads for those who want to dig a bit deeper in that matter. I'm happy to have learnt some new models, deeper understood some models I used to know and eager to see how to apply this in the future. Mental note: Be open to switch chairs, but be careful to switch rooms ;-)

One of the best classes for a "thinking" person to understand complexity in human society. How does complexity arise from "simple" interactions among people, culture, nations? The instructor (Scott E Page) is a gifted with magical ability to explain complex ideas through "simple" examples, yet preserve the "complexity" of problems. Quizzes and exams are also well thought out. Thank you to all (Professor, teaching staff, forum contributors and moderators) for putting together the amazing experience of "Model Thinking"!

This excellent course provides a broad overview of the main models for decision support. Arguments are too vast to be treated in a single course, each of them would deserve at least one special course. But what is important is the knowledge of these opportunities. The course provides the basic tools in several areas, leaving the opportunity to deepen to the interest of each participant. A special praise to the teacher, proficient in triggering the audience's interest and attention, with a good dose of sympathy and irony.

Barely in and it's one of the very best most fun courses I've taken. Scott is hugely enthusiastic and articulate in just the right ways. I hope I'm learning as much as I'm having fun letting model patterns float through my brain. I guess that is learning, sorta. I'm excited to complete the course and build on it. A very good sign. Thank you all so much for putting these courses out there. It's fucking fantastic. Okay, it doesn't really get more emphatic than that from me. Thank you again. Tom Bauer.

This is, hands down, the best course I've ever taken - in-person or online! It is incredibly stimulating, engaging, well-presented and it will challenge you. Not only will it challenge you, but it will change how you view the world, and will give you a profound excitement for things you've never considered before. Anybody and everybody will benefit from this, whatever your career or personal life - this is a course that ascends academia into real-world living. Thank you!

Open new doors to you view on the world and be a better person for it.

Model Thinking is an amazing introductory course. You will be exposed to many new ideas that are taught in simple and understandable lectures. Scott Page is a great lector and a passionate evangelist for Model Thinking. He rightly shows the many ways these many models can be applied to multiple situations.

It is not imaginable that you will not improve in multiple areas because of this course.

Greetings from Latvia, Riga!

For all who are thinking to start the course. I have just completed a very good course and if you want to expand your horizons and become a better thinker. Take it, the course will help you to make clearer decisions.

I will continue to learn some course topics individually.

Thanks to Coursera who provide an excellent course from the University of Michigan and specially thanks to the professor.

Best regards,

Juris Scheps

Very useful and engaging course in general! There were a lot of interesting parts in it. Especially, because it showed that the "many model thinking" is a useful "tool" in various fields of life. There were some trivial parts/ lectures, but it was still useful to go back to some basics for deeper understanding. Scott Page was also a great lecturer and I liked the whole structure of the course. Thanks for the great course, keep up the good work!

An enlightening course. Opens my mind to a wide vista of new ways of thinking and living. Practical with seemingly endless tools for the mind. Prof. Page provides a wide variety of examples that are relatable.

The best thing for me is how Prof. Page feels relatable and approachable in his teaching style - he seems to really want students to understand what he's teaching and meeting us where we are, providing excellent scaffolding along the way.

An amazing world of modelling was unleashed here!

I've always wondered how scientists compute and predict the things that happen around us.

Now after completing this course I am able to understand how to put the facts in the mold of mathematical logic and derive some useful insights from them.

I am grateful to have been taught by Mr. Scott, a veteran of the field.

Thank you University Of Michigan & Coursera for availing this awesome content!

I bought the book "The Model Thinker" first and found it difficult to read. This course offers a gateway to the ideas of the book and it let me see the bigger picture. It has become far easier now to dive deeper into some of the materials the book presents.

Prof. Page is a good teacher and the course material is well selected.

The course is certainly rewarding to any student. It will help make you an educated citizen of the world.

I have a Masters degree and until I took this MOOC I had somehow gotten used to the ridiculous notion that I had learned everything that I needed to know. I am pleasantly amazed at how much I still don't know and I am very excited to learn more. I have even started reading journal articles by Page and Zellner because I am very facinated by the models shown to me in this course.

Thank you very much for making this material available.

This course is a true delight. You will not learn advanced mathematics of programming skills: for that, there's plenty available. More critically, this course will give you the motivation to face that sometimes daunting math with a smile on your face. It will also give you critical skills to think about topics such as elections, forest fires, randomness and strategy. I cannot recommend this enough. Also, the professor is amazing.

This class is just absolutely fantastic. I learned a ton and ended up getting a few of Scott Page's books, which go into even more detail (but still not at a level where someone like me, with a minimal math background, couldn't get it). Thank you for making this course. I'm a PhD student in Philosophy and this class (and Page's books) helped me work on an epistemology paper I would have been unable to do otherwise. Thank you!

It is hard to imagine that a huge amount of information, which Scott collected, structured and offered as a finished course. I have learned a lot new data about natural phenomena, the behavior of the group of people and individuals in different social and economic conditions. I think that course is very useful to any person who want to expand his horizons and become truly "an intelligent citizen in the world". Thanks a lot.

This was a very insightful and fun course! Using models to enhance our thinking and applying it to our daily life is a big lever for higher levels of performance and satisfaction! Professor Page does a great job at explaining this essential topic, with lots of examples and his engaging style! I took it twice, with some years in between, and I learned a lot every time! Highly recommended to anyone who thinks!

One the finest course I had ever opted for. Professor Scott E Page is a true genius. The learning community needs more such courses especially from the legend himself to make a better sense of the things happening around us. It is highly recommended to purchase the books written by Professor Scott E Page for that every book worth its weight in gold. With profound regards to Professor Scott E Page. Cheers.

This course blew my mind week after week. Professor Page's excitement for the topic combined with an amazing ability to communicate clearly and concisely made this an awesome 12 week journey. The double edge of the course is that after 11 weeks my brain is carrying so many new models, it can be hard to keep them straight ... that's what practice and refreshing is for. Awesome class!

Models are the stuff of knowledge: we propose simplified versions of how the world works and consider how well they match reality. Scott answers the philosophical question "What are models for?" and gives an introduction to several engaging models. Anyone who wants to become a lifelong learner will do well to develop the skill of designing, refining, and applying their own models.

A great intro to mental models - interesting, provocative and thought-inducing. Scott lays off the foundation by breaking complex processes into simple equations and deriving the formulas (the formulas that really work!). This course will definitely help one start looking at our world in models - getting a clearer understanding of what's happening around us.

Thanks, Mr. Page! <3

An eye opening walk through different models that govern our lives, both personal, political, social, economic and... [insert any industry, academic discipline]. It'll help you become a more rational person, pay attention to fallacies and patterns that appear around us. Might also turn you into a selfish bot evaluating everything rationally, unless that's just me ;-)