The Mental Models Daily Core Deck

About the deck

Sixty of the most useful mental models, one to a card. Draw one in the morning and use it all day.

Mental models are the shortcuts clear thinkers use to see what is really going on. The Core Deck gathers 60 of the most useful, from Inversion and Second-Order Thinking to Hanlon’s Razor and the Pareto Principle, and puts each one on a card you can hold.

The front is for remembering: a pencil drawing, the model’s name and the idea in one line. The back is for using it: what it means, when to reach for it, a story in which it mattered, and a question to ask yourself.

The cards come in eight colours, one for each situation you face, from making a decision to fixing problems. Facing something hard? The guide card points you to the colour that helps, and the decision spread gives you three cards to think it through.

Who it's for

For anyone who makes decisions for a living or for themselves: founders, managers, consultants, students and curious minds. A thoughtful gift for the person who has every book.

From the creators of the Mental Models Daily podcast. For learning and reflection, not professional advice.

What's in the box

66 cards: 60 model cards, a title card, a guide, ways to use the deck, two index cards and a closing card; one tuck box

• 60 model cards in eight colours, one for each situation: decisions, risk, people, work, strategy, evidence, your own mind and fixing problems
• On the front: a pencil drawing, the model’s name and the idea in one line
• On the back: what it means, when to reach for it, a story and a question to ask yourself
• Six house cards: a guide to find the right card for your situation, five ways to use the deck (from a daily draw to a table game for two to six people) and a two-card index
• Tarot size, 70 × 121 mm (2.75 × 4.75 in), on heavy card stock, in a tuck box