The Great Mental Models, Volume 2

Physics, Chemistry, and Biology

By: Shane Parrish, Rhiannon Beaubien

Narrated by: Grover Gardner

From the New York Times bestselling author of Clear Thinking and Farnam Street founder, Shane Parrish.

The second book in the timeless Great Mental Models series.

Time and time again, great thinkers such as Charlie Munger and Warren Buffett have credited their success to mental models–representations of how something works that can scale onto other fields.

Mastering a small number of mental models enables you to rapidly grasp new information, identify patterns others miss, and avoid the common mistakes that hold people back.

Volume 2 of The Great Mental Models series provides a collection of over twenty important concepts from physics, chemistry, and biology in a clear and accessible style. Not only will you better understand the hidden forces that influence the world around you, you’ll also learn how those forces can work to your advantage.

Some of the mental models covered in this book include:

• Leverage: When the application of a small force to one end results in a larger force at the other end.

• Inertia: An object (or organization) at rest will stay at rest unless acted upon by an external force.

• Activation Energy: The minimum amount of energy required to incite a chemical reaction.
• Ecosystems: A community of organisms that have complex relationships to each other.

The Great Mental Models series demystifies once elusive concepts and illuminates rich knowledge that traditional education overlooks. This series is the most comprehensive and accessible guide on using mental models to better understand our world, solve problems, and gain an advantage.

Critic reviews

“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


“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. … You owe yourself this book.”
— Simon Eskildsen


“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


“I can truly say it is one of the best books I’ve ever had the pleasure of getting lost in. I loved the book and the challenges to conventional wisdom and thinking it presents.”
— Rod Berryman


“Want to learn? Read This! This should be a standard text for high school and university students.”
— Code Cubitt

Insightful models

Lot to reflex and apply to everyday life, I enjoy this book and the series

Easy to read (listen), fun and interesting stories and examples

I like the first volume more but this one has some really cool models that i want to start using right away

Keep learning even when you know it all

I am nearly 81 years old. I have had a good and successful life in many respects. This book allowed me to go back into my deep memories and see where in life I had intuitively grasp many of the things that were discussed. If you have a scientific or quasi scientific background, this book is for you.