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Long reads on how we actually think, decide and live.

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The envy of the polite refusal

The evidence is clear, the incentives are not, and the incentives usually win.

By Alina Petrova3 Nov 202512 min read

A lone figure climbing a pale stone staircase towards an arched window filled with light

Why we change our minds so rarely

The evidence is clear, the incentives are not, and the incentives usually win.

By Alina Petrova7 Oct 202511 min read

People crossing a sunlit concrete hall

Envy is a slow form of trust

The cost is obvious, the benefit is diffuse, and so the benefit loses.

By Alina Petrova4 Sept 202512 min read

People crossing a sunlit concrete hall

Patience is a stubborn way of keeping score

Most advice assumes a person who never existed.

By Alina Petrova29 Aug 202510 min read

A lone figure climbing a pale stone staircase towards an arched window filled with light

Expertise is a social kind of hope

What feels like a preference is often just a default nobody questioned.

By Alina Petrova15 Jun 20258 min read

Illustration of a bare tree over a faint grid, overlaid with rust-red, pale blue and black-spotted circles

The case against the polite refusal

Not every irrational act is a mistake. Some are the point.

By Alina Petrova8 Jun 202513 min read

The choice of the late fee

What feels like a preference is often just a default nobody questioned.

By Alina Petrova15 Feb 20256 min read

People crossing a sunlit concrete hall

Kindness is a stubborn habit

Most advice assumes a person who never existed.

By Alina Petrova9 Feb 202511 min read

A lone figure climbing a pale stone staircase towards an arched window filled with light

In praise of the weather forecast

The mind is built for a different world. It copes remarkably well with this one.

By Alina Petrova21 Jan 202512 min read

Pale pink blossom on thin branches in front of a raw concrete wall

Why we queue without complaint

A small decision, repeated daily, is a life. Nobody designs it that way.

By Alina Petrova14 Jan 202512 min read

People crossing a sunlit concrete hall

Ideas worth reading. Every week.

Essays, data and ideas on economics, rationality and why we do what we do.

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