Monthly Archives: June 2017

Honesty in a box

(featured image credit Tim Green) Acting dishonestly often pays. So does acting honestly go against our own self-interest? Travelling along Britain’s rural roads one doesn’t just encounter octagonal former toll houses (and real tolls). Something else that was unfamiliar to me … Continue reading

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Misunderstanding rationality

(Featured image credit: Les Colporteurs CC0) It is tempting to equate ‘rational’ with ‘right’, and ‘irrational’ with ‘wrong’, but that is mistaken The lottery is sometimes called a tax on the stupid. The logic behind this opinion is that the … Continue reading

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What’s the price?

(featured image: pexels) Internet companies are trying to charge different prices for the same thing depending on who you are. Is that a problem? Prices are a funny concept. We unthinkingly treat them as if they are a physical attribute of … Continue reading

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A tale of two tolls (behavioural economics and ethics edition)

(featured image: S Lowe) Why do we happily pay some tolls, and not others? And how ethical is it to encourage people to take the toll option? On the way back from a few days at the seaside, Google informed us … Continue reading

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Coase on the coast

(featured image: Adam Piggott CC0) Should we negotiate more with our fellow humans for a better life? A couple of weeks ago, I spent a few days on the English south coast, in unexpectedly clement weather. While we had brought weatherproofs … Continue reading

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