How to Make Sense of Any Mess: Information Architecture for Everybody

When you discuss a specific subject, you subconsciously reference part of a large internal map of what you know. Other people can't see this map. It only exists in your head, and it's called your mental model. When faced with a problem, you reference your mental model and try to organize the aspects and complexities of what you see into recognizable patterns. Your ongoing experience changes your mental model.