Essays
Long reads on how we actually think, decide and live.
The luck of the polite refusal
What feels like a preference is often just a default nobody questioned.
The pride of the long game
Not every irrational act is a mistake. Some are the point.
What the free sample teaches us about boredom
It looks like a flaw in the person. Mostly it is a feature of the situation.
Fairness is a social bargain
The story we tell afterwards is tidier than the choice we made at the time.
The envy of the polite refusal
The evidence is clear, the incentives are not, and the incentives usually win.
Fairness is a slow bargain
Before we try to fix people, it is worth understanding what they are for.
Why we buy insurance for the wrong things
Before we try to fix people, it is worth understanding what they are for.
The regret of the second helping
A small decision, repeated daily, is a life. Nobody designs it that way.
Reason is a stubborn tax on attention
Economists have a model. The rest of us have a Tuesday.
What gossip teaches us about habit
We are far better at explaining our choices than at making them.
What the group chat teaches us about generosity
The story we tell afterwards is tidier than the choice we made at the time.
The case against the polite refusal
Not every irrational act is a mistake. Some are the point.