No Noise. All Signal.

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

Packed with timeless insights, our weekly newsletter offers the mental tools to deal with whatever life throws at you.

Our readers include students, teachers, CEOs, coaches, athletes, artists, leaders, followers, politicians and more. They’re not defined by gender, age, income, or politics but rather by a shared passion for living a meaningful life, doing good, and avoiding problems before they happen.

Join us or Start here.

As Seen On:

Recent Articles

Why You Feel At Home In A Crisis

June 22, 2020

When disaster strikes, people come together. During the worst times of our lives, we can end up experiencing the best mental health and relationships with others. Here’s why that happens and how we can bring the lessons we learn with us once things get better. *** The Social Benefits of Adversity When World War II […]

Continue Reading

Stop Preparing For The Last Disaster

June 15, 2020

When something goes wrong, we often strive to be better prepared if the same thing happens again. But the same disasters tend not to happen twice in a row. A more effective approach is simply to prepare to be surprised by life, instead of expecting the past to repeat itself. *** If we want to […]

Continue Reading

Coordination Problems: What It Takes to Change the World

June 08, 2020

The key to major changes on a societal level is getting enough people to alter their behavior at the same time. It’s not enough for isolated individuals to act. Here’s what we can learn from coordination games in game theory about what it takes to solve some of the biggest problems we face. *** What […]

Continue Reading

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

The Bible for better learning and decision making

Casey Herron on audible.com