People, books, and breakthrough ideas—connected to the mental models and moves you can use.
3,456 entries
Eric Klinenberg's concept of social infrastructure refers to the physical conditions that shape the possibility for social interaction: libraries, parks, sidewalks, community centers, playgrounds, and any shared space th…
The phenomenon where individuals exert less effort in group settings than they would working alone—because individual contribution is less visible and less accountable in groups
A structured social media detox involves: (1) Pre-assessment (log usage, note emotional states, identify what you'd miss), (2) Complete abstention 7-30 days (delete apps, use blockers), (3) Active substitution (replace w…
Resource mobilization theory (McCarthy and Zald) argues movements depend less on grievance intensity and more on available resources: money, organizational infrastructure, professional activists, media access, and politi…
Social play—cooperative games, shared laughter, playful teasing—is the primary mechanism through which mammals build trust and practice social skills in low-stakes environments
Social Portfolio Theory applies investment portfolio thinking to relationships: just as financial health requires diverse investments across asset classes, social health requires diverse relationships across types and fu…
Cialdini's principle that people determine correct behavior by observing what others are doing—especially in uncertain situations
In uncertain situations, people look to others' behavior to determine the correct course of action—and deal-making is full of uncertainty
Cialdini's influence principle that people determine what's correct by observing what others do—especially in uncertain situations where individual judgment feels insufficient
Bourdieu's theory that social systems (education, organizations, institutions) reproduce existing social hierarchies while appearing to reward merit
Social and market norms describe different ways people interpret exchanges, including reciprocity and care on one hand and explicit price or contract terms on the other
Munger's emphasis on the overwhelming power of social proof in shaping human behavior: people determine what is correct by observing what others do, especially in conditions of uncertainty
Laura Carstensen's theory proposes that as people perceive their time horizon as limited — whether due to aging, illness, or other factors — they shift their goals from information-seeking and network expansion toward em…
The Socratic method is cooperative dialogue where the teacher asks sequential, probing questions rather than providing answers
A structured dialogue where participants examine a text or problem through open-ended questions, building understanding collectively rather than receiving it from authority
Joseph Nye's Soft Power Framework distinguishes between coercion (hard power: military force, sanctions) and attraction (soft power: culture, political values, foreign policy legitimacy)
Things you'd like to keep but would trade away for a big enough gain. Each has a price rather than a veto. Test a rule by asking what payoff would make you break it; if some payoff would, it belongs here.
The Soil Food Web model, developed by Elaine Ingham, reconceptualizes soil not as inert substrate to be fertilized but as a living ecosystem—billions of organisms per teaspoon including bacteria, fungi, protozoa, nematod…
Solastalgia, coined by Glenn Albrecht, is distress caused by environmental change in one's home environment while still living there—homesickness experienced at home
The Solow model explains capital accumulation and convergence under diminishing returns, saving, depreciation, population growth, and exogenous productivity assumptions
A service-design principle that examines the user's complete task, including steps before, during, and after interacting with a particular product
A body-focused therapeutic approach developed by Peter Levine that uses attention to sensations and paced work with distress
The computational insight that sorting data has a cost (time, energy) and a benefit (faster subsequent lookups), and the optimal strategy depends on how many times you'll search versus how many items you have
The Sound Relationship House organizes seven areas of partnership functioning, supported by trust and commitment, as prompts for discussion and practical attention.