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

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The choice of the round number

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

By Alina Petrova18 May 202510 min read

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

The effort of the loyalty card

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

By Alina Petrova29 Apr 202513 min read

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

In praise of the borrowed book

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

By Alina Petrova8 Apr 202513 min read

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

What the loyalty card teaches us about pride

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

By Alina Petrova1 Mar 20257 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

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

The case against the sunk cost

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

By Alina Petrova10 Dec 202412 min read

People crossing a sunlit concrete hall

What the second helping teaches us about doubt

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

By Alina Petrova2 Nov 20247 min read

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

Why we keep receipts

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

By Alina Petrova5 Oct 20246 min read

People crossing a sunlit concrete hall

In praise of the empty diary

Most advice assumes a person who never existed.

By Alina Petrova15 Sept 202412 min read

Ideas worth reading. Every week.

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

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