Things are apparently going so well in the West that our biggest problem is people having too much pudding. That’s why British health minister Jeremy Hunt declared a “Government war on puddings”. Let your common sense appreciate this. Marvel at … Continued
TLDR version: What you measure, you optimize. But there are important caveats. Two things happened in a day that triggered pattern recognition (no, not the looting and rioting in Charlotte): A study reports that fitness trackers make people lose less weight. … Continued
Some errors are so grave, it takes an expert to make them – and uncritical journalists and motivated reasoners to repeat them. For example, the soundbite that “You can’t outrun your fork”. You know, because thermodynamics isn’t a thing, or doesn’t apply … Continued
Dear activist arseholes: stop making me oppose good things. Let me lead with a prominent example: A few years ago, people in western countries have collectively decided that riding bicycles is a good thing for a number of reasons – it improves … Continued
People in tech have been arguing whether programming is something that everyone should know at least a bit (pun not intended), or whether it should remain a highly specialized and exclusive (i.e. expensive) skill. There are two camps: 1) The reasonable people … Continued
Regular readers have recently been subjected to a series of articles on economics, ethics and generally abstract subjects, so I feel like I should bribe you guys with another piece of practical advice (given this is what most people are coming … Continued
Cover photo credit: James Cridland. On June 6th, the Swiss rejected Universal Basic Income (UBI) in a referendum by an overwhelming margin of 77 to 23 %, which I publicly predicted on reddit weeks ago based on intimate knowledge of the … Continued
The Economist ran an interesting article about the ancient question of power corrupting people. Are the kinds of people who seek power predisposed to evil*? Or does power corrupt? *notice the implicit moral judgment of power as bad by definition, … Continued
Queen Elizabeth II. called Chinese officials “very rude”. The media responded by calling it a “diplomatic gaffe”. The event is fascinating because it illustrates an important point: there is a massive trend of shooting the messenger, while happily ignoring, or even excusing, real … Continued
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
The correct question is “how many times a day”. And the answer is “one or two, depending on who you are and what your goals are”. “But Z., isn’t the usual advice to hit the gym two or three times … Continued
As promised, here are the reading recommendations for 2016. Twelve books, one per month, which should fit all schedules. Links are to Amazon just out of convenience because that’s where the reviews are, but of course get the books you like … 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
Help me fix the holidays. There’s a number of things: Every year, it seems to come to the shops sooner. We can expect Santa Clauses mingling freely with easter bunnies within a decade. From both ends. Two weeks of rabid … 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