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Farnam Street (FS) helps you master the best of what other people have already figured out.

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Recent Articles

Standing on the Shoulders of Giants: The Key to Innovation

April 13, 2020

Innovation doesn’t occur in a vacuum. Doers and thinkers from Shakespeare to Jobs, liberally “stole” inspiration from the doers and thinkers who came before. Here’s how to do it right. *** “If I have seen further,” Isaac Newton wrote in a 1675 letter to fellow scientist Robert Hooke, “it is by standing on the shoulders […]

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Unlikely Optimism: The Conjunctive Events Bias

April 06, 2020

When certain events need to take place to achieve a desired outcome, we’re overly optimistic that those events will happen. Here’s why we should temper those expectations. *** Why are we so optimistic in our estimation of the cost and schedule of a project? Why are we so surprised when something inevitably goes wrong? If […]

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What You Truly Value

March 30, 2020

Our devotion to our values gets tested in the face of a true crisis. But it’s also an opportunity to reconnect, recommit, and sometimes, bake some bread. *** The recent outbreak of the coronavirus is impacting people all over the world — not just in terms of physical health, but financially, emotionally, and even socially. […]

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The Great Mental Models V2

This is the second book in The Great Mental Models series and the highly anticipated follow up to the Wall Street Journal bestseller, Volume 1: General Thinking Concepts.

We tend to isolate the things we know in the domain we learned it. For example:

  • What does the inertia of a rolling stone have to do with perseverance and being open-minded?
  • How can the ancient process of steel production make you a more creative and innovative thinker?
  • What does the replication of our skin cells have to do with being a stronger and more effective leader?

On the surface, these concepts may appear to be dissimilar and unrelated. But the surprising truth is the hard sciences (physics, chemistry, and biology) offer a wealth of useful tools you can use to develop critically important skills like:

  • Relationship building
  • Leadership
  • Communication
  • Creativity
  • Curiosity
  • Problem-solving
  • Decision-making

The second volume of the Great Mental Models series shows you how to make those connections. It explores the core ideas from the hard sciences and offers nearly two dozen models to add to your mental toolbox.

You’ll not only get a better understanding of the forces that influence the world around you, but you’ll learn how to direct those forces to create outsized advantages in the areas of your life that matter most to you.


What People are Saying


I'm really glad this exists in the world and I can see that I will be recommending it often.

Matt Mullenweg

CEO of Automattic and founding developer of Wordpress

The Bible for better learning and decision making

Casey Herron on audible.com