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

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Rationality

What the tip jar teaches us about envy

The story we tell afterwards is tidier than the choice we made at the time.

By Alina Petrova9 Mar 202513 min read
Illustration of a bare tree over a faint grid, overlaid with rust-red, pale blue and black-spotted circles
Behaviour

A short history of the second helping

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

By Alina Petrova21 Feb 20259 min read
Pale pink blossom on thin branches in front of a raw concrete wall
Essays

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
Psychology

A short history of the last biscuit

We are far better at explaining our choices than at making them.

By Alina Petrova1 Feb 202511 min read
Illustration of a bare tree over a faint grid, overlaid with rust-red, pale blue and black-spotted circles
Ideas

In praise of the shortcut

Economists have a model. The rest of us have a Tuesday.

By Alina Petrova9 Jan 202511 min read
A lone figure climbing a pale stone staircase towards an arched window filled with light
Ideas

Generosity is a social bargain

We are far better at explaining our choices than at making them.

By Alina Petrova21 Oct 202410 min read
Illustration of a head in profile facing two overlapping rust-red circles and a cluster of thin vertical lines

Ideas worth reading. Every week.

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

No spam. Just thoughtful ideas.