The Wiki Man
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?…
Why plane crashes are getting weirder – and if we’re lucky, other problems will too
In the late 1980s, the parks service in the United States were concerned about the deterioration of the stonework on…
Why plane crashes are getting weirder
In the late 1980s, the parks service in the United States were concerned about the deterioration of the stonework on…
A lesson in decision-making from the world’s worst road sign
Driving from Dover on the M20 a year ago I missed the turning for the M25. A month later I…
Looking for answers you can’t see
Driving from Dover on the M20 a year ago I missed the turning for the M25. A month later I…
How to make Ukip supporters love green policies
Few people know this, but hidden within the FedEx logo, between the E and the x, there is a small…
Is that Green or red?
Few people know this, but hidden within the FedEx logo, between the E and the x, there is a small…
Want more diversity? Hire groups, not individuals
If I were to give you a budget to choose your perfect house, you would quickly have a clear idea…
Going the wrong way one step at a time
If I were to give you a budget to choose your perfect house, you would quickly have a clear idea…
From Umbrella Man to the Coughing Major, the truth is often very strange
Are you sitting comfortably and wearing your tinfoil hat? If so, open YouTube and watch a full-screen version of the…
From Umbrella Man to the Coughing Major
Are you sitting comfortably and wearing your tinfoil hat? If so, open YouTube and watch a full-screen version of the…
How consumer habits are subject to the law of unintended consequences
Some time in the 1960s, a group of people in an advertising agency (among them Llewelyn Thomas, son of Dylan)…
Shopping and viewing
Some time in the 1960s, a group of people in an advertising agency (among them Llewelyn Thomas, son of Dylan)…
The joys and sorrows of two-way ratings systems
‘J’ai failli attendre’ — ‘I almost had to wait’ — allegedly said by Louis XIV when his carriage drew up just a…
Reputations at stake
‘J’ai failli attendre’ — ‘I almost had to wait’ — allegedly said by Louis XIV when his carriage drew up just a…
Let’s appoint a Ministry of Scandalous Ideas
My children have a phrase called ‘fomo’ — which stands for ‘fear of missing out’. It is a constant, mildly…
What Miliband needs is a grilled tomato
My children have a phrase called ‘fomo’ — which stands for ‘fear of missing out’. It is a constant, mildly…
How to pick the perfect present
I had always attributed it to bad luck in the genetic lottery. I am three-eighths Welsh and a quarter Scottish,…
Cashmere socks and the secret of happiness
I had always attributed it to bad luck in the genetic lottery. I am three-eighths Welsh and a quarter Scottish,…
Have the people who design trains and airports noticed that laptops exist?
It’s taken years to work this out, but there is a subtle art to designing an airport lounge. 1) Install…
