# Ship It!

Insights on various topics ranging from the world of startups, to book reviews, self-improvement, history, case studies, neuroscience, behavioral economics and more

Base URL: https://stefantesoi.com

## Articles
- 100 Days of Writing Challenge: Done!: https://stefantesoi.com/100-days-of-writing-challenge-done - 100 Days of Writing Challenge: Done!
- 100 Days to Run a Marathon Challenge: Done!: https://stefantesoi.com/100-days-to-run-a-marathon-challenge-done - 100 Days to Run a Marathon Challenge: Done!
- 100 Ways To Get Rejected: Applying To Go To Mars: https://stefantesoi.com/100-ways-to-get-rejected-applying-to-go-to-mars - 100 Ways To Get Rejected: Applying To Go To Mars
- 100 Ways To Get Rejected: Petition For A National Public Transportation API: https://stefantesoi.com/100-ways-to-get-rejected-petition-for-a-national-public-transportation-api - 100 Ways To Get Rejected: Petition For A National Public Transportation API
- 100 Ways To Get Rejected: Petition For The Rectification Of The 1973 Romanian-US Tax Treaty: https://stefantesoi.com/100-ways-to-get-rejected-petition-for-the-rectification-of-the-1973-romanian-us-tax-treaty - 100 Ways To Get Rejected: Petition For The Rectification Of The 1973 Romanian-US Tax Treaty
- A Life Well Lived: https://stefantesoi.com/a-life-well-lived - A Life Well Lived
- A Neighborhood Walk in the Spring - Haiku: https://stefantesoi.com/a-neighborhood-walk-in-the-spring-haiku - A Neighborhood Walk in the Spring - Haiku
- Activation Energy: Why Starting Is the Hardest Part: https://stefantesoi.com/activation-energy-why-starting-is-the-hardest-part - Learn how activation energy explains why starting is hard and how to lower the friction that keeps useful work from beginning.
- Anchoring Bias: How First Numbers Manipulate Your Thinking: https://stefantesoi.com/anchoring-bias-how-first-numbers-manipulate-your-thinking - Learn how anchoring bias makes first numbers shape judgment, pricing, negotiation, and decisions, plus how to adjust before you get pulled off course.
- Anomie: https://stefantesoi.com/anomie - Anomie
- Antifragility: How to Benefit From Disorder and Stress: https://stefantesoi.com/antifragility-how-to-benefit-from-disorder-and-stress - Learn how antifragility helps you design systems, careers, and habits that improve from volatility instead of merely surviving stress and shocks.
- Artificial Intelligence - Haiku: https://stefantesoi.com/artificial-intelligence-haiku - Artificial Intelligence - Haiku
- Ask the Wind, Ask the Dust - Haiku: https://stefantesoi.com/ask-the-wind-ask-the-dust-haiku - Ask the Wind, Ask the Dust - Haiku
- Asymmetric Upside: How to Find Bets With Limited Downside and Large Gains: https://stefantesoi.com/asymmetric-upside-how-to-find-bets-with-limited-downside-and-large-gains - Learn how asymmetric upside helps you make better decisions by finding opportunities where downside is limited and potential gains are large.
- Atomic Cryptography: https://stefantesoi.com/atomic-cryptography - Atomic Cryptography
- Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response (ASMR): https://stefantesoi.com/autonomous-sensory-meridian-response - Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response (ASMR)
- Availability Heuristic: Why Vivid Examples Distort Judgment: https://stefantesoi.com/availability-heuristic-why-vivid-examples-distort-judgment - Learn how the availability heuristic makes vivid examples feel more common than they are, and how to make better decisions with base rates.
- Axiom of Cumulative Inertia: https://stefantesoi.com/axiom-of-cumulative-inertia - Axiom of Cumulative Inertia
- Bagan, City of Gods: https://stefantesoi.com/bagan-city-gods - Bagan, City of Gods
- Base Rates: The Forgotten Foundation of Better Predictions: https://stefantesoi.com/base-rates-the-forgotten-foundation-of-better-predictions - Learn how base rates improve predictions by grounding your judgment in what usually happens before you adjust for specific evidence.
- Bayesian Thinking: How to Update Beliefs With New Evidence: https://stefantesoi.com/bayesian-thinking-how-to-update-beliefs-with-new-evidence - Learn how Bayesian thinking helps you update beliefs with new evidence, avoid overconfidence, and make clearer decisions under uncertainty.
- Big Business from Common Things: https://stefantesoi.com/big-business-from-common-things - Big Business from Common Things
- Bitcoin: Hindsight and the Law of Accelerated Returns: https://stefantesoi.com/bitcoin-hindsight-law-accelerated-returns - Bitcoin: Hindsight and the Law of Accelerated Returns
- Bobby Fischer and How to Take Over the Initiative: https://stefantesoi.com/bobby-fischer-and-how-to-take-over-the-initiative - Bobby Fischer and How to Take Over the Initiative
- Book Review: Anything You Want by Derek Sivers: https://stefantesoi.com/book-review-anything-want-derek-sivers - Book Review: Anything You Want by Derek Sivers
- Book Review: The end of Advertising by Andrew Essex: https://stefantesoi.com/book-review-end-advertising-andrew-essex - Book Review: The end of Advertising by Andrew Essex
- Book Review: How to Create a Mind by Ray Kurzweil: https://stefantesoi.com/book-review-how-to-create-a-mind-by-ray-kurzweil - Book Review: How to Create a Mind by Ray Kurzweil
- Book review: Making Ideas Happen by Scott Belsky: https://stefantesoi.com/book-review-making-ideas-happen-scott-belsky - Book review: Making Ideas Happen by Scott Belsky
- Book Review: Quiet - The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking by Susan Cain: https://stefantesoi.com/book-review-quiet-power-introverts-world-cant-stop-talking-susan-cain - Book Review: Quiet - The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking by Susan Cain
- Bott Hypothesis: https://stefantesoi.com/bott-hypothesis - Bott Hypothesis
- Bottlenecks: Find the Constraint That Slows Everything Down: https://stefantesoi.com/bottlenecks-find-the-constraint-that-slows-everything-down - Learn how bottlenecks limit performance, why fixing non-constraints wastes effort, and how to find the constraint that slows a system down.
- Canmethod: https://stefantesoi.com/canmethod - Canmethod
- Carolus Rex - Haiku: https://stefantesoi.com/carolus-rex-haiku - Carolus Rex - Haiku
- Chaos Theory: https://stefantesoi.com/chaos-theory - Chaos Theory
- Chesterton's Fence: Why You Should Understand Before Changing: https://stefantesoi.com/chestertons-fence-why-you-should-understand-before-changing - Learn Chesterton's Fence, why you should understand before changing things, and how this mental model prevents costly decisions in work and life.
- Circle of Competence: Knowing What You Actually Understand: https://stefantesoi.com/circle-of-competence-knowing-what-you-actually-understand - Learn circle of competence, why knowing what you actually understand improves decisions, and how to grow your edge without false confidence.
- Cognitivism: https://stefantesoi.com/cognitivism - Cognitivism
- Comparative Advantage: Why Specialization Beats Doing Everything Yourself: https://stefantesoi.com/comparative-advantage-why-specialization-beats-doing-everything-yourself - Learn how comparative advantage helps you specialize, delegate better, and make smarter choices about time, work, and opportunity cost.
- Compounding: The Mental Model Behind Wealth, Skills, and Progress: https://stefantesoi.com/compounding-the-mental-model-behind-wealth-skills-and-progress - Learn how the compounding mental model turns small repeated actions into outsized gains in wealth, skills, habits, and long-term progress.
- Concept of the Day: Antipositivism (Interpretivism): https://stefantesoi.com/concept-of-the-day-antipositivism-interpretivism - Concept of the Day: Antipositivism (Interpretivism)
- Concept of the Day: Contest Mobility: https://stefantesoi.com/concept-of-the-day-contest-mobility - Concept of the Day: Contest Mobility
- Concept of the Day: Directed Mutagenesis: https://stefantesoi.com/concept-of-the-day-directed-mutagenesis - Concept of the Day: Directed Mutagenesis
- Concept of the Day: Germ Theory Denialism: https://stefantesoi.com/concept-of-the-day-germ-theory-denialism - Concept of the Day: Germ Theory Denialism
- Confessions of an Economic Hit Man: https://stefantesoi.com/confessions-of-an-economic-hit-man - Confessions of an Economic Hit Man
- Confirmation Bias: Why Smart People Still Fool Themselves: https://stefantesoi.com/confirmation-bias-why-smart-people-still-fool-themselves - Learn what confirmation bias is, why smart people still fool themselves, and how to spot it before it distorts decisions, beliefs, and judgment.
- CRISPR-Cas9 Genome Editing: the Rise of the Super Elite, China and Personalized Bio-weapons: https://stefantesoi.com/crispr-cas9-genome-editing-the-rise-of-the-super-elite-china-and-personalized-bio-weapons - CRISPR-Cas9 Genome Editing: the Rise of the Super Elite, China and Personalized Bio-weapons
- Critical Mass: The Moment an Idea or Product Becomes Self-Sustaining: https://stefantesoi.com/critical-mass-the-moment-an-idea-or-product-becomes-self-sustaining - Learn how critical mass explains the point where ideas, products, habits, and communities gain enough momentum to sustain themselves.
- Cryptographic Fun No. 3: Deus Vult!: https://stefantesoi.com/cryptographic-fun-no-3-deus-vult - Cryptographic Fun No. 3: Deus Vult!
- Cryptographic Fun With Emojis: https://stefantesoi.com/cryptographic-fun-with-emojis - Cryptographic Fun With Emojis
- Culture of Poverty: https://stefantesoi.com/culture-of-poverty - Culture of Poverty
- The Daily Concept app one month later: https://stefantesoi.com/daily-concept-app-one-month-later - The Daily Concept app one month later
- The Daily Concept App - Launched: https://stefantesoi.com/daily-concept-launched - The Daily Concept App - Launched
- Dance Monkey, Dance!: https://stefantesoi.com/dance-monkey-dance - Dance Monkey, Dance!
- Day 1 - Online Reputation, Personal Branding: https://stefantesoi.com/day-1-online-reputation-personal-branding - Day 1 - Online Reputation, Personal Branding
- Day 50 of the 100 Days to Run a Marathon Challenge: https://stefantesoi.com/day-50-of-the-100-days-to-run-a-marathon-challenge - Day 50 of the 100 Days to Run a Marathon Challenge
- Days 2&3 - Building my new personal branding oriented start-up: https://stefantesoi.com/days-23-building-my-new-personal-branding-start-up - Days 2&3 - Building my new personal branding oriented start-up
- Decrypt This Post, Difficulty Level: Easy: https://stefantesoi.com/decrypt-this-post-difficulty-level-easy - Decrypt This Post, Difficulty Level: Easy
- #DeleteFacebook: https://stefantesoi.com/deletefacebook - #DeleteFacebook
- #DeleteFacebook - Haiku: https://stefantesoi.com/deletefacebook-haiku - #DeleteFacebook - Haiku
- Diminishing Returns: Why More Effort Eventually Produces Less: https://stefantesoi.com/diminishing-returns-why-more-effort-eventually-produces-less - Learn how diminishing returns explains why more effort eventually produces less value, and how to spot the point where extra work stops helping.
- Dispersed Knowledge: https://stefantesoi.com/dispersed-knowledge - Dispersed Knowledge
- Divided Consciousness: https://stefantesoi.com/divided-consciousness - Divided Consciousness
- Elderflowers - Haiku: https://stefantesoi.com/elderflowers-haiku - Elderflowers - Haiku
- Emergence: How Simple Parts Create Complex Results: https://stefantesoi.com/emergence-how-simple-parts-create-complex-results - Learn how emergence explains complex outcomes from simple parts, why it matters, and how to use this mental model in decisions.
- Endowment Effect: Why We Overvalue What We Already Own: https://stefantesoi.com/endowment-effect-why-we-overvalue-what-we-already-own - Learn the endowment effect, why ownership makes things feel more valuable, and how to make clearer decisions about selling, changing, and letting go.
- Feedback Loops: The Invisible Forces Driving Growth and Collapse: https://stefantesoi.com/feedback-loops-the-invisible-forces-driving-growth-and-collapse - Learn how feedback loops shape growth and collapse, why reinforcing and balancing loops matter, and how to use them in everyday decisions.
- First Principles Thinking: How to Break Problems Down to the Truth: https://stefantesoi.com/first-principles-thinking-how-to-break-problems-down-to-the-truth - Learn first principles thinking, how it works, and how to break problems down to the truth so you can make clearer decisions and better plans.
- First Search: https://stefantesoi.com/first-search - First Search
- Flow and the Optimal Experience of Life: https://stefantesoi.com/flow-the-optimal-experience-of-life - Flow and the Optimal Experience of Life
- Four Brain Cells Cryptography: Les Shadoks: https://stefantesoi.com/four-brain-cells-cryptography-les-shadoks - Four Brain Cells Cryptography: Les Shadoks
- Fragility: How to Spot Systems That Break Under Stress: https://stefantesoi.com/fragility-how-to-spot-systems-that-break-under-stress - Learn how fragility works, how to spot systems that break under stress, and how to make better decisions before pressure exposes hidden weakness.
- Framing Effect: Why the Same Facts Lead to Different Decisions: https://stefantesoi.com/framing-effect-why-the-same-facts-lead-to-different-decisions - Learn how the framing effect changes decisions by changing context, wording, comparisons, and defaults around the same facts.
- Free climbing the El Capitan in Yosemite National Park: https://stefantesoi.com/free-climbing-el-capitan-yosemite-national-park - Free climbing the El Capitan in Yosemite National Park
- Free Will in Theology: https://stefantesoi.com/free-will-in-theology - Free Will in Theology
- French Days, French Immediate Surrender and Hilarity: https://stefantesoi.com/french-days-french-immediate-surrender-and-hilarity - French Days, French Immediate Surrender and Hilarity
- Fundamental Attribution Error: Why We Judge People Too Harshly: https://stefantesoi.com/fundamental-attribution-error-why-we-judge-people-too-harshly - Learn how the fundamental attribution error makes us judge people too harshly, miss context, and make worse decisions in work and life.
- Game Theory Basics: How to Think When Other People Are Also Thinking: https://stefantesoi.com/game-theory-basics-how-to-think-when-other-people-are-also-thinking - Learn game theory basics, why strategic thinking matters, and how to make better decisions when other people are responding too.
- Genghis Khan and the Art of Winning: https://stefantesoi.com/genghis-khan-and-the-art-of-winning - Genghis Khan and the Art of Winning
- Gnosticism: https://stefantesoi.com/gnosticism - Gnosticism
- Good and Evil: https://stefantesoi.com/good-and-evil - Good and Evil
- Goodhart's Law: When Metrics Stop Measuring What Matters: https://stefantesoi.com/goodharts-law-when-metrics-stop-measuring-what-matters - Learn Goodhart's Law, why metrics get distorted, and how to measure performance without losing sight of the outcome that matters.
- Great Leaders in History: Charles XII: https://stefantesoi.com/great-leaders-in-history-charles-xii - Great Leaders in History: Charles XII
- Halfway There. Day 50 of the 100 Days of Writing Challenge: https://stefantesoi.com/halfway-there-day-50-of-the-100-days-of-writing-challenge - Halfway There. Day 50 of the 100 Days of Writing Challenge
- Hanlon's Razor: Never Mistake Incompetence for Malice: https://stefantesoi.com/hanlons-razor-never-mistake-incompetence-for-malice - Learn Hanlon's Razor, how it works, and when to avoid assuming bad intent so you can make calmer, clearer decisions in work and life.
- Hindsight Bias: Why the Past Always Looks More Predictable Than It Was: https://stefantesoi.com/hindsight-bias-why-the-past-always-looks-more-predictable-than-it-was - Learn how hindsight bias makes past events look obvious, why it distorts judgment, and how to make better decisions under uncertainty.
- How Much Analysis of Outcomes is too Much Analysis? Part 2: https://stefantesoi.com/how-much-analysis-is-too-much-part-2 - How Much Analysis of Outcomes is too Much Analysis? Part 2
- How Much Analysis of Outcomes is too Much Analysis?: https://stefantesoi.com/how-much-analysis-of-outcomes-is-too-much-analysis - How Much Analysis of Outcomes is too Much Analysis?
- How to Get Unstuck from Your Routine: https://stefantesoi.com/how-to-get-unstuck-from-routine - How to Get Unstuck from Your Routine
- How Your Name Influences You: https://stefantesoi.com/how-your-name-influences-you - How Your Name Influences You
- Identity and Belief: How Self-Image Shapes Decision Making: https://stefantesoi.com/identity-and-belief-how-self-image-shapes-decision-making - Learn how identity and belief shape decisions, reinforce habits, and quietly limit change, plus a practical method for updating your self-image.
- Ietsism: https://stefantesoi.com/ietsism - Ietsism
- Incentive-Caused Bias: Why Rewards Quietly Distort Judgment: https://stefantesoi.com/incentive-caused-bias-why-rewards-quietly-distort-judgment - Learn how incentive-caused bias distorts judgment, why rewards can override truth, and how to make better decisions around incentives.
- Incentives: Show Me the Reward and I'll Show You the Behavior: https://stefantesoi.com/incentives-show-me-the-reward-and-ill-show-you-the-behavior - Learn how incentives shape behavior, why rewards often beat intentions, and how this mental model improves decisions in work, business, policy, and life.
- Inversion: Solve Problems by Avoiding Stupidity First: https://stefantesoi.com/inversion-solve-problems-by-avoiding-stupidity-first - Learn how inversion helps you solve problems by identifying what to avoid first, reducing mistakes, and making clearer decisions.
- Irreducibility: When Complexity Cannot Be Simplified Further: https://stefantesoi.com/irreducibility-when-complexity-cannot-be-simplified-further - Learn how irreducibility helps you recognize complexity that cannot be simplified without losing what makes a system work.
- Islands, Pirates and Treasures: Cryptographic Challenge No. 4: https://stefantesoi.com/islands-pirates-and-treasures-cryptographic-challenge-no-4 - Islands, Pirates and Treasures: Cryptographic Challenge No. 4
- James–Lange Theory: https://stefantesoi.com/james-lange-theory - James–Lange Theory
- Kafka on the Shore - Haiku: https://stefantesoi.com/kafka-on-the-shore-haiku - Kafka on the Shore - Haiku
- Krogh's Principle: https://stefantesoi.com/kroghs-principle - Krogh's Principle
- La Joie de Vivre with Zorba the Greek: https://stefantesoi.com/la-joie-de-vivre-with-zorba-the-greek - La Joie de Vivre with Zorba the Greek
- La Vie en Rose - Haiku: https://stefantesoi.com/la-vie-en-rose-haiku - La Vie en Rose - Haiku
- Leverage: How Small Inputs Create Massive Outcomes: https://stefantesoi.com/leverage-how-small-inputs-create-massive-outcomes - Learn the leverage mental model, why small inputs can create massive outcomes, and how to use leverage wisely in work, money, and life.
- Lindy Effect: Why the Old Often Outlasts the New: https://stefantesoi.com/lindy-effect-why-the-old-often-outlasts-the-new - Learn the Lindy Effect, why some old ideas and tools keep lasting, and how to use age as one signal when making better decisions.
- Local vs Global Maxima: Why Short-Term Wins Can Trap You: https://stefantesoi.com/local-vs-global-maxima-why-short-term-wins-can-trap-you - Learn local vs global maxima, why short-term optimization can trap better outcomes, and how to choose smarter long-term strategies.
- Loss Aversion: Why Losses Hurt More Than Gains Feel Good: https://stefantesoi.com/loss-aversion-why-losses-hurt-more-than-gains-feel-good - Learn loss aversion, why losses feel stronger than gains, and how this bias affects money, careers, relationships, and important life choices.
- Margin of Safety: How to Make Better Decisions Under Uncertainty: https://stefantesoi.com/margin-of-safety-how-to-make-better-decisions-under-uncertainty - Learn the margin of safety mental model and how extra room for error helps you make better decisions in money, work, planning, and life.
- Mental Accounting: Why People Treat Money Irrationally: https://stefantesoi.com/mental-accounting-why-people-treat-money-irrationally - Learn how mental accounting makes people treat money irrationally, distort tradeoffs, and make worse financial decisions.
- Mentalism: https://stefantesoi.com/mentalism - Mentalism
- Mind Wandering: https://stefantesoi.com/mind-wandering - Mind Wandering
- Morning Run - Haiku: https://stefantesoi.com/morning-run-haiku - Morning Run - Haiku
- Gatsby JS and NetlifyCMS is now powering this blog: https://stefantesoi.com/moved-blog-to-gatsby-and-netlifycms - Gatsby JS and NetlifyCMS is now powering this blog
- Multiomics: https://stefantesoi.com/multiomics - Multiomics
- Multipliers and Nullifiers: What Truly Moves Results: https://stefantesoi.com/multipliers-and-nullifiers-what-truly-moves-results - Learn how multipliers amplify results, nullifiers erase effort, and a simple mental model helps you find the few factors that truly determine outcomes.
- My Experience as a First Time Author: https://stefantesoi.com/my-experience-as-a-first-time-author - My Experience as a First Time Author
- My First Dive Into Hydroponics: https://stefantesoi.com/my-first-dive-into-hydroponics - My First Dive Into Hydroponics
- My latest project: VideoTimestamps: https://stefantesoi.com/my-latest-project-video-timestamps - Behold my latest project, VideoTimestamps!
- My Top Biography & Autobiography Books - Reading List: https://stefantesoi.com/my-top-biography-autobiography-books-reading-list - My Top Biography & Autobiography Books - Reading List
- My Top Books on Startups - Reading List: https://stefantesoi.com/my-top-books-on-startups-reading-list - My Top Books on Startups - Reading List
- My Top Business Books - Reading List: https://stefantesoi.com/my-top-business-books-reading-list - My Top Business Books - Reading List
- My Top Fiction Books - Reading List: https://stefantesoi.com/my-top-fiction-books-reading-list - My Top Fiction Books - Reading List
- My Top History Books - Reading List: https://stefantesoi.com/my-top-history-books-reading-list - My Top History Books - Reading List
- My Top Marketing Books - Reading List: https://stefantesoi.com/my-top-marketing-books-reading-list - My Top Marketing Books - Reading List
- My Top Mind & Neuroscience Books - Reading List: https://stefantesoi.com/my-top-mind-neuroscience-books-reading-list - My Top Mind & Neuroscience Books - Reading List
- My Top Psychology Books - Reading List: https://stefantesoi.com/my-top-psychology-books-reading-list - My Top Psychology Books - Reading List
- My Top Self-Improvement Books Reading List: https://stefantesoi.com/my-top-self-improvement-books-reading-list - My Top Self-Improvement Books Reading List
- My Top Stoicism Books Reading List: https://stefantesoi.com/my-top-stoicism-books-reading-list - My Top Stoicism Books Reading List
- Nash Equilibrium: Understanding Stable Outcomes in Competition: https://stefantesoi.com/nash-equilibrium-understanding-stable-outcomes-in-competition - Learn what Nash equilibrium means, why stable outcomes emerge in competition, and how to use the model to make better strategic decisions.
- Network Effects: Why Products and Ideas Snowball: https://stefantesoi.com/network-effects-why-some-products-and-ideas-snowball - Learn how network effects make products, platforms, and ideas more valuable as more people use them, and where the model can mislead you.
- Never Go Full Retard: https://stefantesoi.com/never-go-full-retard - Never Go Full Retard
- Why I Wrote "100 Mental Models for Better Thinking": https://stefantesoi.com/new-book-100-mental-models-for-better-thinking - The story behind the book, from The Daily Concept to a full mental models toolkit for better thinking in the age of AI.
- New Challenge: 100 Ways To Get Rejected: https://stefantesoi.com/new-challenge-100-ways-to-get-rejected - New Challenge: 100 Ways To Get Rejected
- Object Relations Theory: https://stefantesoi.com/object-relations-theory - Object Relations Theory
- Occam's Razor: Why the Simplest Explanation Often Wins: https://stefantesoi.com/occams-razor-why-the-simplest-explanation-often-wins - Learn Occam's Razor, why the simplest explanation often wins, and how to use it without oversimplifying decisions, diagnosis, and problem solving.
- Opportunity Cost: The Hidden Price of Every Decision: https://stefantesoi.com/opportunity-cost-the-hidden-price-of-every-decision - Learn opportunity cost, why every decision has a hidden price, and how to use it to make better choices in work, money, time, and life.
- Optionality: Why Flexible People Win in Uncertain Worlds: https://stefantesoi.com/optionality-why-flexible-people-win-in-uncertain-worlds - Learn how optionality helps you stay flexible, protect downside, and make better decisions when the future is uncertain.
- Orthogenesis: https://stefantesoi.com/orthogenesis - Orthogenesis
- Paradox of Choice vs. Random Choice: https://stefantesoi.com/paradox-of-choice-vs-random-choice - Paradox of Choice vs. Random Choice
- Parkinson's Law: Why Work Expands to Fill the Time Available: https://stefantesoi.com/parkinsons-law-why-work-expands-to-fill-the-time-available - Learn Parkinson's Law, why work expands to fill the time available, and how to use tighter constraints to finish faster and better.
- PASS Theory of Intelligence: https://stefantesoi.com/pass-theory-of-intelligence - PASS Theory of Intelligence
- Path Dependence: How Early Choices Shape Future Outcomes: https://stefantesoi.com/path-dependence-how-early-choices-shape-future-outcomes - Learn path dependence, why early decisions shape future outcomes, and how to avoid getting trapped by choices that no longer fit reality.
- The Pharaoh Sails to Orion: Cryptographic Challenge No. 5: https://stefantesoi.com/pharaoh-sails-to-orion-cryptographic-challenge-5 - The Pharaoh Sails to Orion: Cryptographic Challenge No. 5
- Principal-Agent Problem: When Other People's Goals Diverge from Yours: https://stefantesoi.com/principal-agent-problem-when-other-peoples-goals-diverge-from-yours - Learn the principal-agent problem, why agents may act against your interests, and how to design better incentives, oversight, and trust in decisions.
- Prisoner's Dilemma: Why Cooperation Is Hard but Powerful: https://stefantesoi.com/prisoners-dilemma-why-cooperation-is-hard-but-powerful - Learn the prisoner's dilemma, why cooperation breaks down, and how trust, repetition, and incentives make cooperation stronger.
- Probabilistic Thinking: How to Think in Bets, Not Certainties: https://stefantesoi.com/probabilistic-thinking-how-to-think-in-bets-not-certainties - Learn probabilistic thinking, how to think in bets instead of certainties, and make calmer, smarter decisions under uncertainty.
- Putting Yourself in Winning Situations: https://stefantesoi.com/putting-winning-situations - Putting Yourself in Winning Situations
- Rational Inattention: https://stefantesoi.com/rational-inattention - Rational Inattention
- Recency Bias: Why the Latest Event Feels More Important Than It Is: https://stefantesoi.com/recency-bias-why-the-latest-event-feels-more-important-than-it-is - Learn what recency bias is, why recent events distort judgment, and how to make better decisions by balancing fresh evidence with long-term patterns.
- Reciprocity and Trust: The Mental Model Behind Strong Relationships: https://stefantesoi.com/reciprocity-and-trust-the-mental-model-behind-strong-relationships - Learn how reciprocity and trust reinforce each other, shape strong relationships, and improve cooperation in work, business, and life.
- Reciprocity: Why Giving First Often Changes Everything: https://stefantesoi.com/reciprocity-why-giving-first-often-changes-everything - Learn how reciprocity shapes trust, influence, relationships, work, negotiation, and better decisions by changing what people feel moved to return.
- Red Queen Effect: Why Standing Still Means Falling Behind: https://stefantesoi.com/red-queen-effect-why-standing-still-means-falling-behind - Learn how the Red Queen Effect explains competition, adaptation, and why constant improvement is often required just to keep your position.
- Regression to the Mean: Why Extreme Results Usually Normalize: https://stefantesoi.com/regression-to-the-mean-why-extreme-results-usually-normalize - Learn regression to the mean, why extreme results often move closer to average, and how to avoid misreading luck, skill, and short-term swings.
- Relativity: Why Judgments Depend on What You Compare Against: https://stefantesoi.com/relativity-why-judgments-depend-on-what-you-compare-against - Learn how relativity shapes judgment, value, happiness, status, and decisions by changing what you compare against in everyday choices and goals.
- Replacement Child: https://stefantesoi.com/replacement-child - Replacement Child
- Reputational Capital: Why Trust Compounds Faster Than Money: https://stefantesoi.com/reputational-capital-why-trust-compounds-faster-than-money - Learn how reputational capital works, why trust compounds over time, and how to build a durable reputation through repeated behavior.
- Reversion to the Mean in Business, Investing, and Life: https://stefantesoi.com/reversion-to-the-mean-in-business-investing-and-life - Learn how reversion to the mean explains extreme results in business, investing, and life, so you can avoid overreacting to noise.
- Reward Theory of Attraction: https://stefantesoi.com/reward-theory-of-attraction - Reward Theory of Attraction
- Robustness: Building a Life and Business That Can Handle Shocks: https://stefantesoi.com/robustness-building-a-life-and-business-that-can-handle-shocks - Learn how robustness helps people and businesses absorb shocks, protect what matters, and keep functioning when plans, markets, or conditions change.
- Scale Effects: Why What Works Small Can Fail Big: https://stefantesoi.com/scale-effects-why-what-works-small-can-fail-big - Scale effects explain why systems change as they grow. Learn to spot hidden constraints, nonlinear costs, and failure points before scaling up.
- Scarcity: Why Rare Things Feel More Valuable: https://stefantesoi.com/scarcity-why-rare-things-feel-more-valuable - Learn scarcity, why rare things feel more valuable, and how this mental model shapes pricing, desire, attention, and everyday decisions.
- Second-Order Thinking: Looking Beyond Immediate Consequences: https://stefantesoi.com/second-order-thinking-looking-beyond-immediate-consequences - Learn second-order thinking, why immediate wins can mislead you, and how to make better decisions by looking at downstream consequences.
- Sequences and Timing: Why Order Matters More Than You Think: https://stefantesoi.com/sequences-and-timing-why-order-matters-more-than-you-think - Learn why sequences and timing shape results, when the order of actions matters, and how to choose the right next step in work, decisions, and life.
- Signal vs Noise: How to Focus on What Actually Matters: https://stefantesoi.com/signal-vs-noise-how-to-focus-on-what-actually-matters - Learn the difference between signal and noise, why noisy information distorts judgment, and how to focus on what actually matters.
- Skin in the Game: Why Accountability Changes Behavior: https://stefantesoi.com/skin-in-the-game-why-accountability-changes-behavior - Learn how skin in the game changes incentives, improves judgment, and reveals who truly carries the consequences of a decision.
- Slippery Slope: When It Is a Fallacy and When It Is Real: https://stefantesoi.com/slippery-slope-when-it-is-a-fallacy-and-when-it-is-real - Learn when slippery slope reasoning is a fallacy, when it points to a real risk, and how to judge chains of consequences more clearly.
- Social Proof: Why We Follow Crowds More Than We Admit: https://stefantesoi.com/social-proof-why-we-follow-crowds-more-than-we-admit - Learn how social proof shapes decisions, why crowds influence us, and how to use this mental model without outsourcing your judgment.
- Spring Rain - Haiku: https://stefantesoi.com/spring-rain-haiku - Spring Rain - Haiku
- The Staples Thesis: https://stefantesoi.com/staples-thesis - The Staples Thesis
- Status Quo Bias: Why People Resist Change Even When It Helps: https://stefantesoi.com/status-quo-bias-why-people-resist-change-even-when-it-helps - Learn status quo bias, why people resist change even when change helps, and how to make better decisions without overprotecting the familiar.
- Summer Chills: https://stefantesoi.com/summer-chills - Summer Chills
- Survivorship Bias: The Success Stories That Mislead Us: https://stefantesoi.com/survivorship-bias-the-success-stories-that-mislead-us - Learn survivorship bias, why success stories mislead us, and how to make better decisions by noticing the silent evidence behind failure.
- Symbolic Self-completion Theory: https://stefantesoi.com/symbolic-self-completion-theory - Symbolic Self-completion Theory
- Systems Thinking: Why Everything Connects to Everything Else: https://stefantesoi.com/systems-thinking-why-everything-connects-to-everything-else - Learn how systems thinking helps you see connections, feedback loops, delays, and hidden causes so you can make better decisions.
- The 100 Days to Run a Marathon Challenge: https://stefantesoi.com/the-100-days-to-run-a-marathon-challenge - The 100 Days to Run a Marathon Challenge
- The Adjacent Possible: How Innovation Happens Step by Step: https://stefantesoi.com/the-adjacency-possible-how-innovation-happens-step-by-step - Learn how the adjacent possible explains innovation, why progress happens step by step, and how to use nearby options to create better ideas.
- The Business of Claque: https://stefantesoi.com/the-business-of-claque - The Business of Claque
- The Call to Adventure - Haiku: https://stefantesoi.com/the-call-to-adventure-haiku - The Call to Adventure - Haiku
- The Cyprus Experiment: https://stefantesoi.com/the-cyprus-experiment - The Cyprus Experiment
- The Expert Beginner Trap: Why Early Success Can Slow Growth: https://stefantesoi.com/the-expert-beginner-trap-why-early-success-can-slow-growth - Learn how the expert beginner trap turns early success into stalled growth, how to recognize it, and how to keep improving without losing confidence.
- The Flywheel Effect: How Momentum Builds Over Time: https://stefantesoi.com/the-flywheel-effect-how-momentum-builds-over-time - Learn how the flywheel effect turns small repeated actions into momentum in business, habits, learning, and personal growth.
- The Gun Kata - Haiku: https://stefantesoi.com/the-gun-kata-haiku - The Gun Kata - Haiku
- The Halo Effect: How One Trait Distorts the Whole Picture: https://stefantesoi.com/the-halo-effect-how-one-trait-distorts-the-whole-picture - Learn how the halo effect distorts judgment, why one strong trait can shape the whole picture, and how to make better decisions.
- The Happiness and the Joy of the Smaller Things in Life: https://stefantesoi.com/the-happiness-and-the-joy-in-the-smaller-things-in-life - The Happiness and the Joy of the Smaller Things in Life
- The Law of Unintended Consequences: Why Fixes Often Create New Problems: https://stefantesoi.com/the-law-of-unintended-consequences-why-fixes-often-create-new-problems - Learn how the law of unintended consequences explains why well-meant fixes create new problems and how to think before acting.
- The Man Struck Twice by Lightning: https://stefantesoi.com/the-man-struck-twice-by-lightning - The Man Struck Twice by Lightning
- The Map Is Not the Territory: Why Reality Beats Abstractions: https://stefantesoi.com/the-map-is-not-the-territory-why-reality-beats-abstractions - Learn why the map is not the territory, how abstractions distort reality, and how to make better decisions by checking models against the world.
- The Median Is Not the Message: How Averages Hide Reality: https://stefantesoi.com/the-median-is-not-the-message-how-averages-hide-reality - Learn why averages can hide variation, outliers, and individual outcomes, and how to read the full distribution before making important decisions.
- The Mind - Haiku: https://stefantesoi.com/the-mind-haiku - The Mind - Haiku
- Model of Computation: https://stefantesoi.com/the-model-of-computation - Model of Computation
- The Outlier Problem: When Exceptional Cases Distort Your Strategy: https://stefantesoi.com/the-outlier-problem-when-exceptional-cases-distort-your-strategy - Learn how the outlier problem distorts strategy, why exceptional cases mislead decisions, and how to use unusual results without copying them blindly.
- The Pareto Principle: How 20% of Effort Creates 80% of Results: https://stefantesoi.com/the-pareto-principle-how-20-of-effort-creates-80-of-results - Learn the Pareto principle, why a few inputs often drive most outcomes, and how to use the 80/20 rule in work, business, and life.
- The Political Farm: https://stefantesoi.com/the-political-farm - The Political Farm
- The Sunk Cost Fallacy: Why You Keep Investing in the Wrong Things: https://stefantesoi.com/the-sunk-cost-fallacy-why-you-keep-investing-in-the-wrong-things - Learn the sunk cost fallacy, why past investments distort judgment, and how to stop throwing more time, money, or effort after bad decisions.
- The Tangaroa Expedition: https://stefantesoi.com/the-tangaroa-expedition - The Tangaroa Expedition
- The Werther Effect: https://stefantesoi.com/the-werther-effect - The Werther Effect
- Thought of the Day: On Success, Personality Types and the Personal Mission Statement: https://stefantesoi.com/thought-of-the-day-on-success-personality-types-and-the-personal-mission-statement - Thought of the Day: On Success, Personality Types and the Personal Mission Statement
- Three-sector Theory: https://stefantesoi.com/three-sector-theory - Three-sector Theory
- Time Horizons: Why Long-Term Thinkers Make Better Decisions: https://stefantesoi.com/time-horizons-why-long-term-thinkers-make-better-decisions - Learn how time horizons shape decisions, why long-term thinkers avoid costly mistakes, and how to choose the right horizon for better judgment.
- Tipping Points: When Small Changes Suddenly Become Huge: https://stefantesoi.com/tipping-points-when-small-changes-suddenly-become-huge - Learn how tipping points explain sudden change, why small shifts can create big outcomes, and how to spot them in systems and decisions.
- Tragedy of the Commons: Why Shared Resources Get Overused: https://stefantesoi.com/tragedy-of-the-commons-why-shared-resources-get-overused - Learn the tragedy of the commons, why shared resources get overused, and how better rules, incentives, and ownership protect them.
- Triune Brain: https://stefantesoi.com/triune-brain - Triune Brain
- Truffle hunting with pygmy ponies in the Ukrainian Carpathians: https://stefantesoi.com/truffle-hunting-pygmy-ponies-ukrainian-carpathians - Truffle hunting with pygmy ponies in the Ukrainian Carpathians
- Trust but Verify: A Mental Model for Modern Information Overload: https://stefantesoi.com/trust-but-verify-a-mental-model-for-modern-information-overload - Learn how the trust but verify mental model helps you evaluate claims, check sources, and make sound decisions without becoming cynical or overwhelmed.
- Velocity vs Direction: Why Speed Is Useless if You Are Headed Wrong: https://stefantesoi.com/velocity-vs-direction-why-speed-is-useless-if-you-are-headed-wrong - Velocity vs direction explains why moving fast only helps when your aim is right, and how to make better decisions before accelerating.
- Via Negativa: Improve by Removing Instead of Adding: https://stefantesoi.com/via-negativa-improve-by-removing-instead-of-adding - Learn how via negativa helps you improve decisions, health, work, and life by removing what causes harm instead of adding more.
- Walking the Camino del Norte: https://stefantesoi.com/walking-the-camino-del-norte - Walking the Camino del Norte
- What Is a Mental Model and Why It Improves Everyday Thinking: https://stefantesoi.com/what-is-a-mental-model-and-why-it-improves-everyday-thinking - Learn what a mental model is, why it improves everyday thinking, and how to use better thinking tools for decisions, work, learning, and life.
- What Would Rembrandt Do?: https://stefantesoi.com/what-would-rembrandt-do - What Would Rembrandt Do?
- Why do Random Words Pop Up in Your Head: https://stefantesoi.com/why-do-random-words-pop-up-in-your-head - Why do Random Words Pop Up in Your Head
- Why your Nation's IQ matters more than your Own: https://stefantesoi.com/why-your-nations-iq-matters-more-than-your-own - Why your Nation's IQ matters more than your Own
- World's Greatest Gamer: https://stefantesoi.com/worlds-greatest-gamer - World's Greatest Gamer
- Zero-Sum vs Positive-Sum Thinking: Stop Playing the Wrong Game: https://stefantesoi.com/zero-sum-vs-positive-sum-thinking-stop-playing-the-wrong-game - Learn the difference between zero-sum and positive-sum thinking, when each applies, and how to avoid treating every decision like a contest.

## Core Pages
- Home: https://stefantesoi.com/ - Main landing page.
- Books: https://stefantesoi.com/books - Books by and about the author.
- 100 Mental Models for Better Thinking: https://stefantesoi.com/books/100-mental-models-for-better-thinking - Landing page for the book 100 Mental Models for Better Thinking.
- Contact: https://stefantesoi.com/contact - Contact and consultation entry point.
- Projects: https://stefantesoi.com/projects - Selected software, writing, and business projects.
- Home [ro]: https://stefantesoi.com/ro - Main landing page.
- Series: https://stefantesoi.com/series - Article series index.

## Feeds
- RSS Feed: https://stefantesoi.com/rss.xml - Latest article feed.
- Sitemap: https://stefantesoi.com/sitemap.xml - Search-engine sitemap.