The Wiki Man
We let programmers run our lives. So how’s their moral code?
A few years ago, in the week before Christmas when supermarket sales are at their highest, staff at one branch…
Why Tube strikes can be good for you
Afamily member is thinking of moving and asked for commuting advice. Well, first add 25 per cent to any journey…
From A to B, differently
Afamily member is thinking of moving and asked for commuting advice. Well, first add 25 per cent to any journey…
Email needs eugenics
You won’t read much about Sir Francis Galton nowadays because, while it’s inarguable that the man was a giant in…
Eugenics for your email
You won’t read much about Sir Francis Galton nowadays because, while it’s inarguable that the man was a giant in…
Want to avoid regulators? Do something useless
I had a water meter installed in my flat a few months ago. I looked at it just now and…
Two industries in need of regulation
I had a water meter installed in my flat a few months ago. I looked at it just now and…
The real power of free markets: not efficiency, but innovation and dumb luck
The greatest mistake made by conservatism was its overly close relationship with neo-classical economics. This was a marriage of convenience:…
Free markets and dumb luck
The greatest mistake made by conservatism was its overly close relationship with neo-classical economics. This was a marriage of convenience:…
Turn the licence fee into a digital currency – and save more than just the BBC
What follows is a proposal for reducing the BBC licence fee and improving the corporation’s output while saving the British…
Let’s pay for the BBC content we use
What follows is a proposal for reducing the BBC licence fee and improving the corporation’s output while saving the British…
This is what every menu should look like
The appallingly bad photograph below was taken on my mobile phone about 15 years ago. It shows the menu layout…
The presentation of choice
The appallingly bad photograph below was taken on my mobile phone about 15 years ago. It shows the menu layout…
A better way to be charitable: just give money
Seven years ago I wrote here about a site called Kiva.org. I had met the co-founder of this charity when…
Just giving
Seven years ago I wrote here about a site called Kiva.org. I had met the co-founder of this charity when…
The trick that makes self-checkouts almost tolerable
I spent the last few days in Deal and Folkestone with Professor Richard Thaler at Nudgestock, Ogilvy’s seaside festival of…
A lightbulb moment at the self-checkout
I spent the last few days in Deal and Folkestone with Professor Richard Thaler at Nudgestock, Ogilvy’s seaside festival of…
In praise of the ‘Don’t know’ voter
I am scraping the edges of my memory here, but I am fairly sure that opinion polls in my childhood…
In praise of the ‘Don’t know’ voter
I am scraping the edges of my memory here, but I am fairly sure that opinion polls in my childhood…
The importance of selective inefficiency
Readers of a certain age may remember choosing a cassette player in the 1980s. In theory the process was simple:…
The importance of selective inefficiency
Readers of a certain age may remember choosing a cassette player in the 1980s. In theory the process was simple:…
Why the internet hasn’t killed estate agents (and what might)
I don’t like to make business predictions, but — barring some apocalypse — I suspect there will be plenty of…
Why estate agents aren’t dying out
I don’t like to make business predictions, but — barring some apocalypse — I suspect there will be plenty of…
Sod hard-working families: let’s have a four-day week
Whenever I hear the phrase ‘hard-working families’ a little voice in my head asks ‘what about the lazier, chilled-out families?…
Let’s rethink the working week
Whenever I hear the phrase ‘hard-working families’ a little voice in my head asks ‘what about the lazier, chilled-out families?…
