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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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Ideas

The loyalty of the weather forecast

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

By Alina Petrova22 Nov 20257 min read
Illustration of a head in profile facing two overlapping rust-red circles and a cluster of thin vertical lines
Ideas

What the round number teaches us about generosity

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

By Alina Petrova11 Oct 202512 min read
Pale pink blossom on thin branches in front of a raw concrete wall
Ideas

Expertise is a social kind of hope

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

By Alina Petrova15 Jun 20258 min read
Illustration of a bare tree over a faint grid, overlaid with rust-red, pale blue and black-spotted circles
Ideas

Status is a reasonable bet on the future

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

By Alina Petrova28 Nov 202412 min read
Illustration of a bare tree over a faint grid, overlaid with rust-red, pale blue and black-spotted circles

Ideas worth reading. Every week.

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

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