By now, I could start most articles with “popular opinion has stuff the wrong way around“. For instance, you hear people saying they want to start a business, but worry that “the economy” might not be good enough right now. Let me … Continued
This is an article about etiquette. It will not go into details – there are excellent classics that cover the whole “How not to give the Queen a heart attack by holding your cutlery wrong” business. Etiquette, at its core, … Continued
The British government, among others, is trying to figure out how to make people eat less sugar. I propose a better question: Have we all gone completely mad and legally incapable? What the fuck happened to sui iuris? Feel free to call me old-fashioned, … Continued
When people can’t find a good answer to an important question, it is usually the case that they’re not asking the right question. Obviously, that doesn’t apply to scientifically hard objective problems like nuclear fusion, room temperature superconductors and faster than … Continued
This article is going to make some people very angry. Consider yourself warned. Why do some people get what they want, while others not so much? There are a few reasons: Problems of goal setting: Lack of realistic information about … Continued
Last night, some friends and I went out to grab sausage and punch. And I noticed something interesting. The best restaurant in town is called “The Little Pub”. Conversely, the worst salmonella-ridden joints tend to call themselves things like “Le Grand … Continued
This blog seems to have become popular by giving advice people find helpful. To date, we have covered a number of topics, and hope to do many more in the future. The drafts list is at almost 100 articles and counting. But if … Continued
Let me start you off with two anecdotes. In high school, I was lucky to go with a full class of great people, and by the time we were 15, we were all one big happy family, everybody talking to each … Continued
“Buying local” is the shortest known term for economic illiteracy. There are things that are sensible to make locally. Like bottled water. Nobody can tell the difference between Evian and decent tap water blindfolded, just like nobody can hear any difference … Continued
My friend has a problem that’s uniquely European – only through incredible effort can he avoid being given money by several government agencies. As he is currently quitting his job and preparing for impending fatherhood, the amount of cash various … Continued
I make a lot of fun of the startup culture. And to be sure, there is a lot to make fun of. However, I have a secret to share. I am actually enthusiastic that this is what young people today … Continued
All the significant success stories that I am aware of – including firsthand – have one thing in common. If you look at Apple, Google, Facebook, Microsoft, Tesla… They did nothing radically new. Apple didn’t invent the mp3 player, the … Continued
A report by a non-profit made rounds of the media in my little country a while ago claiming that three quarters of children have experience with drugs. If your first instinct was “that doesn’t seem right”, congratulations, your common sense … Continued
I wrote another one of these economics articles, because nobody reads them which gives me freedom. Everything from pub chats through expert debate to government policy in western countries has been split roughly into two camps for the last several … Continued
An “expert” is: A person who is wrong slightly less often than non-experts, which is still most of the time. A person whom the speaker wants the listener to trust. Ultimately, when applied to soft disciplines such as economics (especially … Continued
Everything you need to know about a nation, you can learn from how it does two things: 1. Queuing, and 2. Driving. Both measure the people’s ability (and willingness) to function in a reasonable system without breaking it. In fact, … Continued
The European Central Bank launched a programme of quantitative easing to the tune of 60 billion euros every month. The logic appears solid at first – it seems to have worked in America, so why not in Europe? Because America’s problem was … Continued
If you want to get anything done, there are two basic ways to get yourself to do it. The first, more popular and devastatingly wrong option is to try to motivate yourself. The second, somewhat unpopular and entirely correct choice is to … Continued
There is an awful lot of nonsense floating about the interwebs and even “expert” debates when it comes to economic growth, so let me put it straight for those interested:
