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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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Psychology

Why we hoard what we cannot use

Most advice assumes a person who never existed.

By Alina Petrova24 Dec 202413 min read
Illustration of a head in profile facing two overlapping rust-red circles and a cluster of thin vertical lines
Economics

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
Psychology

In praise of small talk

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

By Alina Petrova17 Nov 20246 min read
Pale pink blossom on thin branches in front of a raw concrete wall
Psychology

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

Ideas worth reading. Every week.

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

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