Lists / People

Shane Parrish

Farnam Street; The Great Mental Models series.

Shane Parrish is the founder of Farnam Street (fs.blog) and author of The Great Mental Models book series. He built a large readership by distilling concepts from psychology, physics, biology, and philosophy into practical thinking tools. His work centres on improving judgment and avoiding cognitive errors through cross-disciplinary reasoning.

#2Mental Model Curators
64/ 100
Authority scoreEstablished
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14
Top 100 Mental Model Curators
Rank #2·Farnam Street; The Great Mental Models series.
Frameworks

Attributed to Shane Parrish

Mental models, principles, and operating frameworks extracted from sources where Shane is the credited author or speaker.

24frameworks
01
Activation Energy
The spark of change
Self-Mastery·from Mental Models: The Best Way to Make Intelligent Decisions
02
Active vs Passive Stability Assessment
Know whether your system survives neglect or crashes without constant input
Strategy·from Entropy and the Second Law of Thermodynamics
03
Alloying
The art of mixing elements
Self-Mastery·from Mental Models: The Best Way to Make Intelligent Decisions
04
Asymmetric Warfare
Unconventional tactics can be effective
Strategy·from Mental Models: The Best Way to Make Intelligent Decisions
05
Bias from Incentives
Incentives can influence behavior
Mindset·from Mental Models: The Best Way to Make Intelligent Decisions
06
Catalysts
The accelerators of change
Self-Mastery·from Mental Models: The Best Way to Make Intelligent Decisions
07
Causation vs. Correlation
Two things happening together doesn't mean one causes the other
Mindset·from The Great Mental Models, Volume 1 General Thinking Concepts
08
Character
The total of traits and motivations
Mindset·from Mental Models: The Best Way to Make Intelligent Decisions
09
Contrast
The spice of life
Mindset·from Mental Models: The Best Way to Make Intelligent Decisions
10
Customer Happiness Framework
Focus on Thrilling Customers
Mindset·from First Principles Thinking
11
Falsifiability
If you can't prove it wrong, you can't really prove it right
Mindset·from The Great Mental Models, Volume 1 General Thinking Concepts
12
Framing
The art of context
Communication·from Mental Models: The Best Way to Make Intelligent Decisions
13
Friction and Viscosity
Resistance to motion
Productivity·from Mental Models: The Best Way to Make Intelligent Decisions
14
Hanlon's Razor
Don't attribute to malice what is more easily explained by mistake
Influence·from The Great Mental Models, Volume 1 General Thinking Concepts
15
Inertia
Resistance to change
Self-Mastery·from Mental Models: The Best Way to Make Intelligent Decisions
16
Inversion
Avoid Stupidity
Mindset·from Inversion: The Power of Avoiding Stupidity
17
Inversion: The Power of Thinking Backwards
Instead of asking how to succeed, ask how to fail—then avoid that
Strategy·from The Great Mental Models Volume 1
18
Leverage
The force multiplier
Productivity·from Mental Models: The Best Way to Make Intelligent Decisions
19
Melody
Music's soul
Mindset·from Mental Models: The Best Way to Make Intelligent Decisions
20
Mutually Assured Destruction
Deterrence can be a powerful strategy
Strategy·from Mental Models: The Best Way to Make Intelligent Decisions
21
Necessity and Sufficiency
Having the necessary conditions doesn't mean you have enough to guarantee success
Strategy·from The Great Mental Models, Volume 1 General Thinking Concepts
22
Occam's Razor
Simplest explanation
Mindset·from Occam's Razor
23
Performance
The art of execution
Mindset·from Mental Models: The Best Way to Make Intelligent Decisions
24
Plot
The story's engine
Mindset·from Mental Models: The Best Way to Make Intelligent Decisions
Domains

Framework distribution

44frameworks
Mindset19 frameworks · 43.2%
Strategy10 frameworks · 22.7%
Self-Mastery5 frameworks · 11.4%
Productivity4 frameworks · 9.1%
Leadership2 frameworks · 4.5%
Influence2 frameworks · 0%
Other2 frameworks · 9.1%
Bibliography

Sources by Shane Parrish

14sources
Book
2024
The Great Mental Models Volume 1
Book·2 frameworks extracted
2024
The Great Mental Models, Volume 1
Book·2 frameworks extracted
2019
The Great Mental Models, Volume 1 General Thinking Concepts
Book·12 frameworks extracted
—
The Great Mental Models, Volume 1: General Thinking Tools
Book
—
The Great Mental Models Volume 2
Book
Essay
2020
Circle of Competence
Essay·6 frameworks extracted
2020
Entropy and the Second Law of Thermodynamics
Essay·4 frameworks extracted
2020
First Principles Thinking
Essay·4 frameworks extracted
2020
Inversion: The Power of Avoiding Stupidity
Essay·2 frameworks extracted
2020
Mental Models: The Best Way to Make Intelligent Decisions
Essay·48 frameworks extracted
2020
Occam's Razor
Essay·2 frameworks extracted
2020
Second-Order Thinking
Essay·2 frameworks extracted
2020
The Feynman Technique
Essay·2 frameworks extracted
2020
The Map is Not the Territory
Essay·2 frameworks extracted
Appears alongside

Top neighbors of Shane Parrish

8people
01
Aaron Stupple
explanations-and-progress curator.
1shared list
02
Adam Mastroianni
Experimental History; meta-science curator.
1shared list
03
Adam Robinson
Robinson Global Strategic Advisors; meta-learning.
1shared list
04
Alain de Botton
School of Life; philosophy-as-life-tools curator.
1shared list
05
Alan Watts
eastern-philosophy translator for the West.
1shared list
06
Andy Matuschak
evergreen notes; spaced-repetition-based memory systems.
1shared list
07
Anne-Laure Le Cunff
Ness Labs; mindful productivity / tiny experiments.
1shared list
08
Atul Gawande
checklist; medicine-meets-systems essayist.
1shared list
Last updated
10 May 2026
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