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The Unreasonable Human
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Essays

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

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Rationality

In praise of the round number

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

By Alina Petrova17 Apr 20256 min read
A lone figure climbing a pale stone staircase towards an arched window filled with light
Ideas

A short history of the queue

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

By Alina Petrova27 Mar 202510 min read
Pale pink blossom on thin branches in front of a raw concrete wall
Essays

The risk of the long game

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

By Alina Petrova23 Nov 20247 min read
Illustration of a head in profile facing two overlapping rust-red circles and a cluster of thin vertical lines
Rationality

Why we misremember the past

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

By Alina Petrova30 Sept 20246 min read
A lone figure climbing a pale stone staircase towards an arched window filled with light
Ideas

A short history of the apology

Before we try to fix people, it is worth understanding what they are for.

By Alina Petrova9 Sept 20249 min read
Pale pink blossom on thin branches in front of a raw concrete wall

Ideas worth reading. Every week.

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

No spam. Just thoughtful ideas.