Shane Parrish

Parrish is the entrepreneur and wisdom seeker behind Farnam Street and the host of The Knowledge Project Podcast, where he focuses on turning timeless insights into action. His new book is Clear Thinking: Turning Ordinary Moments Into Extraordinary Results

Recent Articles

Scrooge's Secret to Living Your Best Life

Ebenezer Scrooge played by society’s scoreboard until he realized that wasn't what mattered

By Shane Parrish

How to Use Body Language to Become More Confident

'Don’t fake it ’til you make it. Fake it 'til you become it'

By Shane Parrish/Farnam St

This Is What Makes Life Worth Living in the Face of Death

Advice from a neurosurgeon who had to face his own mortality

By Shane Parrish

5 Life Lessons From the Founder of J.C. Penney

It is then we must remember that all good days in human life come from the mastery of the days of trouble that are forever recurrent. — J.C. Penney Many are unaware that the department...

By Shane Parrish

Here's Why We Should Recognize Our Flaws

It marks the beginning of wisdom

By Shane Parrish

This Is the Difference Between Science and Pseudoscience

It’s not immediately clear, to the layman, what the essential difference is between science and something masquerading as science: pseudoscience. The distinction gets at the core of what comprises human knowledge: How do we actually...

By Shane Parrish

How to Use Your Body Language to Become More Confident

“Don’t fake it ’til you make it. Fake it 'til you become it”

By Shane Parrish

How to Improve Your Relationships With Others

Most of us periodically struggle to manage our relationships, whether we’re trying to manage a company, a team, a marriage, or a friendship. The problem is that we’re often fighting, rather than riding, the tremendous...

By Shane Parrish

What Quality Education Should Teach You, According to a Harvard Scientist

Harvard’s great biologist/psychologist Steven Pinker is one of my favorites, even though I’m just starting to get into his work.What makes him great is not just his rational mind, but his multidisciplinary approach. He pulls...

By Shane Parrish

How to Achieve Your Reading Goals This Year

I love my bookshelves. I love the physical act of having the books up there on the shelves to be looked at, admired, remembered.When I was younger, I really enjoyed the library, and I still...

By Jeffrey Annello / Farnam Street

A Profound Contradiction of Human Existence

“Science does not reveal the meaning of our existence, but it does draw back some of the veils.”***“Be not deceived,” Epictetus writes in The Discourses, “every animal is attached to nothing so much as to...

By Shane Parrish

5 Tips for Becoming a Great Scientist

The biologist E.O. Wilson, now of Harvard University, made his first and largest splash by releasing his book Sociobiology: The New Synthesis, which made the controversial claim (at the time) that human nature has a...

By Shane Parrish

4 Lessons for Success From the Cofounder of Paypal

Stay open-minded and flexible

By Shane Parrish

How Analogies Can Make You Better at Arguments

John Pollack is a former Presidential Speechwriter. If anyone knows the power of words to move people to action, shape arguments, and persuade, it is he.In Shortcut: How Analogies Reveal Connections, Spark Innovation, and Sell...

By Shane Parrish

4 Ways to Increase Your Resilience, According to Psychology

Psychologist Albert Bandura is famous for his social learning theory which is really more of a model than a theory.He stresses the importance of observational learning. Who you spend time with matters. “Learning would be...

By Shane Parrish

How to Choose What to Read

I read a lot. More and more, I’ve been thinking about what I read and asking myself if I’m making the most use of that time? Is there a way to improve return on investment?...

By Shane Parrish

How to Live Your Best Life, According to a Roman Emperor

Marcus Aurelius has been read for 1800 or so years now and he’s arguably just as relevant today as he was when he was ruler of the Roman Empire.Aurelius, the ruler of the Roman Empire...

By Shane Parrish

The Secret to Problem Solving, According to the Military

While I’m not all that interested in military doctrine and tactics in and of themselves, I am interested in complex systems, how the weak win wars, and the lessons military leaders offer (for example, see...

By Shane Parrish

14 Books That Will Make You Smarter

Make the most out of your time and effort in reading

By Shane Parrish

How to Rest Your Overworked Mind

In the go-go-go world of today we need to be sure we’re giving our mind ample opportunity to rest and relax — recognizing when we need a mental break.I usually take a walk. Or go...

By Shane Parrish
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