Essays
Long reads on how we actually think, decide and live.
Forecasting our own regret
We are poor at predicting how we will feel, and worst of all at predicting how much it will matter.
Rationality is a human endeavour
What economics, psychology and everyday life can teach us about making better decisions.
Why good people make bad decisions
Hypocrisy is the wrong diagnosis. The ordinary mind is simply built for a different world.
The price of being kind
Generosity looks irrational on a spreadsheet. Over a lifetime it is the best trade most of us ever make.
The limits of the calculator
Expected utility is a fine tool. It was never a description of anyone.
The tyranny of the default
Most of the choices that shape a life were never chosen at all.
The memory of the group chat
The cost is obvious, the benefit is diffuse, and so the benefit loses.
What the lottery teaches us about hope
A ticket is not a bet on winning. It is a small, weekly permission to imagine.
The pension that enrolled itself
Automatic enrolment is the revolution's great success. It is also its only one.
A short history of the borrowed book
The story we tell afterwards is tidier than the choice we made at the time.
The case against the waiting room
The mind is built for a different world. It copes remarkably well with this one.
The promise
A cheap, gentle, evidence-based way to make people better off. What could go wrong?