Paul Yacoubian - Founder, Builder, Angel Investor

Rank	Mental Model	Description	Primary	Secondary	Derivatives
1	Imitation	Humans learn primarily through copying others	Psychology	BiologyAnthropologySystems	Social Proof, Mimetic Theory
2	Incentives	People respond to incentives in predictable ways	Economics	PsychologySystems	Moral Hazard, Principal-Agent Problem, Perverse Incentives
3	Flywheel Effects	Systems that accelerate their own growth through momentum	Systems	BusinessPhysics	Reflexivity, Positive Feedback Loops, Virtuous Cycles
4	Minimization	Systems naturally minimize energy, effort, and resistance	Systems	PhysicsBiologyEconomics
5	Maximization	Systems seek to maximize efficiency, output, or advantage	Systems	EconomicsBiology	Economies of Scale, Optimization, Competitive Advantage
6	Exponential Effects	Small changes can have disproportionately large impacts	Systems	MathematicsPhysics	Viral Growth, Compound Interest, Network Effects
7	Multi-order Effects	Actions have consequences, which have consequences	Systems	LogicPhilosophy	Unintended Consequences, Cascade Effects
8	Redundancy	Multiple backup systems prevent total failure	Engineering	SystemsBiology
9	Opportunity Cost	The cost of any choice is what you give up	Economics	LogicPsychology
10	Economies of Scale	Cost per unit decreases as volume increases	Economics	SystemsEngineering	Network Effects, Learning Curves
11	First Principles	Break down complex problems into fundamental truths	Logic	PhilosophyMathematics
12	Inversion	Think backwards from the desired outcome	Logic	MathematicsStrategy
13	Confirmation Bias	We seek information that confirms our existing beliefs	Psychology	LogicStatistics
14	Loss Aversion	Losses feel twice as powerful as equivalent gains	Psychology	EconomicsBiology
15	Supply and Demand	Price is determined by the intersection of supply and demand	Economics
16	Pareto Principle (80/20)	80% of effects come from 20% of causes	Mathematics	EconomicsSystems
17	Leverage	Small inputs can create large outputs with the right mechanism	Physics	EngineeringFinance
18	Critical Mass	The minimum size needed to sustain a reaction	Physics	SystemsSociology
19	Natural Selection	Favorable traits become more common over time	Biology	SystemsEconomics
20	Circle of Competence	Know what you know and what you don't know	Psychology	LogicStrategy
21	Margin of Safety	Build in buffers for uncertainty	Engineering	FinancePsychology
22	Entropy	Systems tend toward disorder without energy input	Physics	SystemsBiology
23	Anchoring	First piece of information influences all subsequent judgments	Psychology	EconomicsStatistics
24	Regression to the Mean	Extreme measurements tend to be closer to average on repetition	Statistics	MathematicsPsychology
25	Optionality	Having choices is valuable	Finance	LogicStrategy
26	Asymmetric Risk/Reward	Limited downside with unlimited upside	Finance	LogicStrategy
27	Survivorship Bias	We overweight successes because failures are hidden	Statistics	PsychologyLogic
28	Sunk Cost Fallacy	Past costs should not influence future decisions	Psychology	EconomicsLogic
29	Normal Distribution	Most things cluster around the average	Statistics	MathematicsPsychology
30	Conservation of Energy	Energy cannot be created or destroyed, only transformed	Physics	SystemsPhilosophy
31	Equilibrium	Systems seek stable states	Physics	SystemsEconomics
32	Specialization	Focused expertise creates advantages	Biology	EconomicsSystems
33	Adaptation	Organisms adjust to their environment	Biology	PsychologySystems
34	Symmetry	Patterns of balance and proportion reveal underlying structure	Geometry	MathematicsPhysicsBiology
35	Scale	Size fundamentally changes behavior and properties	Geometry	PhysicsBiologySystems
36	Proximity	Things closer together have stronger influence on each other	Geometry	PsychologySystemsPhysics
37	Modularity	Complex systems built from simpler, reusable components	Systems	EngineeringBiologyMathematics	Assembly Theory, Fractals, Network Architecture
38	Golden Ratio	The most aesthetically pleasing proportion in nature	Geometry	MathematicsBiologyArt
39	Threshold Effects	Small changes create dramatic shifts once a threshold is crossed	Systems	PhysicsPsychologyEconomics
40	Base Rate Neglect	We ignore prior probability when making judgments	Statistics	PsychologyLogic
41	Availability Heuristic	We judge probability by how easily examples come to mind	Psychology	StatisticsEconomics
42	Hindsight Bias	Past events seem more predictable than they were	Psychology	LogicStatistics
43	Selection Bias	Non-random data selection leads to false conclusions	Statistics	PsychologyLogic
44	Symbiosis	Mutually beneficial relationships between different entities	Biology	EconomicsSystemsSociology
45	Competition	Limited resources create competitive dynamics	Biology	EconomicsGame TheoryPsychology
46	Cooperation	Working together produces outcomes impossible individually	Game Theory	BiologyEconomicsPsychology
47	Network Effects	Value increases exponentially with each additional user	Economics	SystemsTechnologySociology
48	Path Dependence	Historical sequences matter; past decisions constrain future options	Systems	EconomicsHistoryPsychology
49	Feedback Loops	Outputs of a system become inputs, creating cycles of cause and effect	Systems	EngineeringBiologyEconomics
50	Emergence	Complex behaviors arise from simple rules and interactions	Systems	BiologyPhysicsComplexity Science

This is a living document. Mental models are ranked by their general applicability, frequency of use, and power to improve decision-making. Rankings reflect personal experience and may evolve as understanding deepens.