The Wiki Man

Does HS2 pass the Butterfield test?

19 November 2015 3:00 pm

Despite my opposition to High Speed 2, I am quite a big fan of HS1, the line which runs from…

Hayek was right: you can’t understand society without evolution

7 November 2015 9:00 am

In December the controversial satellite TV channel ReallyTV launches its Christmas season with a flagship reality show called From Homs to…

Hayek was right: you can’t understand society without evolution

5 November 2015 3:00 pm

In December the controversial satellite TV channel ReallyTV launches its Christmas season with a flagship reality show called From Homs to…

Spontaneous recombustion: how vapers have re-invented pipe-smoking in electronic form

24 October 2015 9:00 am

A fascinating newcomer on the British high street is the vape shop. These were perfectly described by my friend Paul…

Spontaneous recombustion: how vapers have re-invented pipe-smoking in electronic form

22 October 2015 2:00 pm

A fascinating newcomer on the British high street is the vape shop. These were perfectly described by my friend Paul…

We let programmers run our lives. So how’s their moral code?

10 October 2015 9:00 am

A few years ago, in the week before Christmas when supermarket sales are at their highest, staff at one branch…

We let programmers run our lives. So how’s their moral code?

8 October 2015 2:00 pm

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

26 September 2015 8:00 am

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

24 September 2015 1:00 pm

Afamily member is thinking of moving and asked for commuting advice. Well, first add 25 per cent to any journey…

Email needs eugenics

12 September 2015 9:00 am

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

10 September 2015 1:00 pm

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

29 August 2015 9:00 am

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

27 August 2015 1:00 pm

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

15 August 2015 9:00 am

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

13 August 2015 1:00 pm

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

1 August 2015 9:00 am

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

30 July 2015 1:00 pm

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

18 July 2015 9:00 am

The appallingly bad photograph below was taken on my mobile phone about 15 years ago. It shows the menu layout…

The presentation of choice

16 July 2015 1:00 pm

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

4 July 2015 9:00 am

Seven years ago I wrote here about a site called Kiva.org. I had met the co-founder of this charity when…

Just giving

2 July 2015 1:00 pm

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

20 June 2015 9:00 am

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

18 June 2015 1:00 pm

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

6 June 2015 9:00 am

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

4 June 2015 1:00 pm

I am scraping the edges of my memory here, but I am fairly sure that opinion polls in my childhood…