The second strongest instinct
Our innate drive to survive is, unquestionably and self-evidently, the strongest of our many instincts. Only one other instinct comes anywhere near
Koenfucius’s Substack
Seeking to understand our behaviour - what we do, how we decide what to do and how to do it, and why we do it.
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Torn in traffic
Few environments are as illustrative of human behavioural tendencies as the nation’s highways and byways. And some are giving us mixed messages
There is such a thing as a free lunch
A remarkable proportion of what we value is given to us by others – and neither they, nor we, are aware of this
Gamblers up to a point
A simple survey question shows that we are natural gamblers — and that ‘expected value’, the tidy statistical logic economists reach for, has little to do with how we actually decide
The Resonance Premium
We tend to value stuff based on its cost – except when we don’t
Spoiled for choice, spoiled by choice?
Being able to choose is better than having no choice, but a wider choice can lure us into a frustrating trap
The weakness that strengthens our rules
Rules are useful in even the simplest of societies… but what if they go against our interest?
The value of everything
We non-accountants love pointing the finger at accountants for knowing the cost of everything, and the value of nothing. But are we as concerned with value as we think we are?
Why the warm glow needs fuel
Have we humans evolved a ‘noble’ form of motivation that stands apart from a baser, grubbier version?
The dead that barely matter
It is not only the value of a life that is hard to determine – so is the significance of a death: some deaths provoke outrage, while others, just as numerous and preventable, meet with indifference
Limited incentives for unlimited motivation?
Would a world without billionaires really look just like it looks now, only without billionaires?