The Great Mental Models Volume 2: Physics, Chemistry, and Biology
“This is what non-fiction books should aspire to be like. Definitely, a must-read if you’re into universal multi-disciplinary thinking.”
– Carl Rannaberg
“I’m really glad this exists in the world and I can see that I will be recommending it often.”
– Matt Mullenweg
“Learn the big ideas from the big disciplines and you’ll be able to twist and turn problems in interesting ways at unprecedented speeds”
– Simon Eskildsen
A Look Inside Volume 2
Building on the idea that learning worldly wisdom improves our decisions and our outcomes, volume 2 of The Great Mental Models explains the foundational concepts of physics, chemistry, and biology, demonstrating the value of having these models in your toolkit.
These fundamental concepts are everywhere, and if you want to make decisions based on how the world really works, thereby improving your chances of success, then these are critical models to understand. Each chapter explains the key concepts and then explores how to use them as a model by examining historical examples.
See a sample chapter on Cooperation
Click here to download a free chapter in PDF.
Bonus Materials
- The Elephant
- The Three Buckets of History
- The Trolley Experiment
- The Cattle Chute
- Second-Order Problem
- Fat Tails
- Causation vs. Correlation
Where to Order
Have you seen The Great Mental Models Volume 1:
General Thinking Concepts?
Real World Reviews
Here is what some people have said about The Great Mental Models Volume 2 so far:
“I’m really glad this exists in the world and I can see that I will be recommending it often.”
– Matt Mullenweg
co-founder of WordPress
founder and CEO of Automattic
“This is what non-fiction books should aspire to be like. Informative, concise, universal, practical, visual, sharing stories and examples for context. Definitely, a must-read if you’re into universal multi-disciplinary thinking.”
– Carl Rannaberg
“Broadly informative. This book contains a wealth of information which is elegantly sourced from a broad array of knowledge bases and studies. This information is presented in a way that is elegant and easy to digest.”
— Benjamin Krotin
“If you’ve read Charlie Munger’s Almanack this is the book you deeply crave in its wake. … Learn the big ideas from the big disciplines and you’ll be able to twist and turn problems in interesting ways at unprecedented speeds. His blog already documents a subset of models, but in this book Shane goes in even more depth with rich examples of each under the umbrella of ‘General Thinking Concepts’, e.g. Occam’s Razor. This is the first in a 5-part series: the encyclopedia of the big ideas from the big disciplines. One that I hope to be recognizable on bookshelves around the world. You owe yourself this book.”
– Simon Eskildsen
“This book is a natural complement to Shane’s blog. It teaches the reader about important mental models in an easy to learn manner. Shane has a wonderful ability to discern what models are most important to decision-makers and to teach the reader the key principles behind these models. This book is a great thing for any active decision-maker to have – in any industry where you make frequent decisions with no “right answer.” I highly recommend it!”
— Paul Ciampa
“The Great Mental Models series is a stunning achievement in centralizing the many models for thought in an organized fashion … The encyclopedic content is complex but easily digested- I’ve found myself referencing the first volume on numerous occasions.”
– Sam
“A must read, for anyone looking to better understand the complexities of the world we live in.”
— Amazon Customer
“A wonderful follow up to Volume 1 (General Thinking Concepts), this book breaks down a range of insanely valuable models from the scientific disciplines, exploring them through a practical lens.”
— Amazon Customer
“The first book in this series opened my eyes to mental models and second edition has now doubled down on introducing practical applications of models that exist within physics and biology. They’re simple, great, and extremely applicable.”
— Amazon Customer
Get Your Copy of The Great Mental Models Volume 2
