koenfucius
@koenfucius.bsky.social
Accidental behavioural economist
koenfucius.substack.com
koenfucius.substack.com
Pinned
Blogged: Seize the day... or save the best for last?
Do these conflicting maxims reflect conflicting intuitions - and which should we follow? There is a handy trick we can use to avoid confusion and select the right one:
buff.ly/5r5XEp9
Do these conflicting maxims reflect conflicting intuitions - and which should we follow? There is a handy trick we can use to avoid confusion and select the right one:
buff.ly/5r5XEp9
Humans have been making (and drinking!) alcohol for some 10,000 years.
Not all of the wisdom concerning the consumption of the substance withstands sober scrutiny, though.
Here are 3 common alcohol claims debunked and declared myth:
buff.ly/XpkXkxz
Not all of the wisdom concerning the consumption of the substance withstands sober scrutiny, though.
Here are 3 common alcohol claims debunked and declared myth:
buff.ly/XpkXkxz
December 15, 2025 at 9:17 PM
Humans have been making (and drinking!) alcohol for some 10,000 years.
Not all of the wisdom concerning the consumption of the substance withstands sober scrutiny, though.
Here are 3 common alcohol claims debunked and declared myth:
buff.ly/XpkXkxz
Not all of the wisdom concerning the consumption of the substance withstands sober scrutiny, though.
Here are 3 common alcohol claims debunked and declared myth:
buff.ly/XpkXkxz
Storytellers narrate events in nonlinear sequence—for effect, to enhance the drama, or maybe they forgot some key detail and want to fill in the gaps.
Our brain will have none of it. It wants a linear story and will put things back in order:
buff.ly/LT6IEAW
Our brain will have none of it. It wants a linear story and will put things back in order:
buff.ly/LT6IEAW
December 15, 2025 at 7:51 PM
Storytellers narrate events in nonlinear sequence—for effect, to enhance the drama, or maybe they forgot some key detail and want to fill in the gaps.
Our brain will have none of it. It wants a linear story and will put things back in order:
buff.ly/LT6IEAW
Our brain will have none of it. It wants a linear story and will put things back in order:
buff.ly/LT6IEAW
Poker is a game you’d better not play with philosophers: buff.ly/vRTnkhY
December 15, 2025 at 6:19 PM
Poker is a game you’d better not play with philosophers: buff.ly/vRTnkhY
Resilience is the best defence against stress, but you cannot just bulk it up in a workshop.
It develops through experience of adversity—but how much adversity is enough, and how much is too much?
Matt Grawitch tackles this stressy Goldilocks problem:
buff.ly/AwLYrjD
It develops through experience of adversity—but how much adversity is enough, and how much is too much?
Matt Grawitch tackles this stressy Goldilocks problem:
buff.ly/AwLYrjD
December 15, 2025 at 5:35 PM
Resilience is the best defence against stress, but you cannot just bulk it up in a workshop.
It develops through experience of adversity—but how much adversity is enough, and how much is too much?
Matt Grawitch tackles this stressy Goldilocks problem:
buff.ly/AwLYrjD
It develops through experience of adversity—but how much adversity is enough, and how much is too much?
Matt Grawitch tackles this stressy Goldilocks problem:
buff.ly/AwLYrjD
Meta-analytic review by Riddell et al suggests adjusting one’s goals can be beneficial for one’s wellbeing, and identifies several unique and shared predictors of flexible goal adjustment disengagement and reengagement:
buff.ly/vPUGNum
buff.ly/vPUGNum
December 15, 2025 at 4:09 PM
Meta-analytic review by Riddell et al suggests adjusting one’s goals can be beneficial for one’s wellbeing, and identifies several unique and shared predictors of flexible goal adjustment disengagement and reengagement:
buff.ly/vPUGNum
buff.ly/vPUGNum
Folk wisdom encourages us to seize the moment… and to save the best for last.
Is folk wisdom confused? Are we inherently conflicted? Or is there a way to make sense of this contradiction?
buff.ly/5r5XEp9
Is folk wisdom confused? Are we inherently conflicted? Or is there a way to make sense of this contradiction?
buff.ly/5r5XEp9
December 15, 2025 at 12:22 PM
Folk wisdom encourages us to seize the moment… and to save the best for last.
Is folk wisdom confused? Are we inherently conflicted? Or is there a way to make sense of this contradiction?
buff.ly/5r5XEp9
Is folk wisdom confused? Are we inherently conflicted? Or is there a way to make sense of this contradiction?
buff.ly/5r5XEp9
Markets are regularly afflicted by two perceptual distortions—one of value (the ‘bezzle’) and one of time (temporal dissonance)—independent, but sometimes occurring simultaneously.
Polemic Paine spots the signs, notably in AI and crypto. Enlightening post:
buff.ly/4jTpKH9
Polemic Paine spots the signs, notably in AI and crypto. Enlightening post:
buff.ly/4jTpKH9
December 15, 2025 at 11:35 AM
Markets are regularly afflicted by two perceptual distortions—one of value (the ‘bezzle’) and one of time (temporal dissonance)—independent, but sometimes occurring simultaneously.
Polemic Paine spots the signs, notably in AI and crypto. Enlightening post:
buff.ly/4jTpKH9
Polemic Paine spots the signs, notably in AI and crypto. Enlightening post:
buff.ly/4jTpKH9
Good doctors do not good hospital managers make
Research by Muñoz & Otero on 3400 hospitals in Chile finds replacing doctors without management training as CEOs with people who studied management reduced mortality by 8%:
buff.ly/3POT942
TL;DR:🧵 buff.ly/bMViW45
Research by Muñoz & Otero on 3400 hospitals in Chile finds replacing doctors without management training as CEOs with people who studied management reduced mortality by 8%:
buff.ly/3POT942
TL;DR:🧵 buff.ly/bMViW45
December 15, 2025 at 9:18 AM
Good doctors do not good hospital managers make
Research by Muñoz & Otero on 3400 hospitals in Chile finds replacing doctors without management training as CEOs with people who studied management reduced mortality by 8%:
buff.ly/3POT942
TL;DR:🧵 buff.ly/bMViW45
Research by Muñoz & Otero on 3400 hospitals in Chile finds replacing doctors without management training as CEOs with people who studied management reduced mortality by 8%:
buff.ly/3POT942
TL;DR:🧵 buff.ly/bMViW45
Cheaters gonna cheat
New research, spanning a period of three years, suggests dishonesty is a strong predictor of itself—people who cheat will repeat, writes @ocklenburg.bsky.social:
buff.ly/cI6dzPw
New research, spanning a period of three years, suggests dishonesty is a strong predictor of itself—people who cheat will repeat, writes @ocklenburg.bsky.social:
buff.ly/cI6dzPw
December 15, 2025 at 6:53 AM
Cheaters gonna cheat
New research, spanning a period of three years, suggests dishonesty is a strong predictor of itself—people who cheat will repeat, writes @ocklenburg.bsky.social:
buff.ly/cI6dzPw
New research, spanning a period of three years, suggests dishonesty is a strong predictor of itself—people who cheat will repeat, writes @ocklenburg.bsky.social:
buff.ly/cI6dzPw
We cannot unconditionally put blood or organs from one persons body into that of another person—blood transfusions and organ transplants require strict compatibility.
Until now—scientists removed blood antigens to make a kidney the universal type-O:
buff.ly/gOwnNLP
Until now—scientists removed blood antigens to make a kidney the universal type-O:
buff.ly/gOwnNLP
December 15, 2025 at 6:36 AM
We cannot unconditionally put blood or organs from one persons body into that of another person—blood transfusions and organ transplants require strict compatibility.
Until now—scientists removed blood antigens to make a kidney the universal type-O:
buff.ly/gOwnNLP
Until now—scientists removed blood antigens to make a kidney the universal type-O:
buff.ly/gOwnNLP
Reposted by koenfucius
We denken wel eens dat beslissingen nemen is veel minder een kwestie van rationeel afwegen van kosten en baten van verschillende opties, en veel meer het oplossen van conflicten.
Mijn @apache_be stukje, ICYMI, spit dat verschil verder uit:
buff.ly/E8Yzjkz
Mijn @apache_be stukje, ICYMI, spit dat verschil verder uit:
buff.ly/E8Yzjkz
December 14, 2025 at 11:35 AM
We denken wel eens dat beslissingen nemen is veel minder een kwestie van rationeel afwegen van kosten en baten van verschillende opties, en veel meer het oplossen van conflicten.
Mijn @apache_be stukje, ICYMI, spit dat verschil verder uit:
buff.ly/E8Yzjkz
Mijn @apache_be stukje, ICYMI, spit dat verschil verder uit:
buff.ly/E8Yzjkz
There’s something special about the combination of music and comedy—when wit, talent and skill align, something magical happens.
Here is Dudley Moore in the early 1960s Beyond the Fringe comedy revue with a superb Beethoven parody:
youtu.be/GazlqD4mLvw
Here is Dudley Moore in the early 1960s Beyond the Fringe comedy revue with a superb Beethoven parody:
youtu.be/GazlqD4mLvw
December 14, 2025 at 9:17 PM
There’s something special about the combination of music and comedy—when wit, talent and skill align, something magical happens.
Here is Dudley Moore in the early 1960s Beyond the Fringe comedy revue with a superb Beethoven parody:
youtu.be/GazlqD4mLvw
Here is Dudley Moore in the early 1960s Beyond the Fringe comedy revue with a superb Beethoven parody:
youtu.be/GazlqD4mLvw
Are nudges ineffectual?
@casssunstein.bsky.social offers some nuance to the meta-analysis of Nudging that is doing the rounds:
buff.ly/QVMFAte
@casssunstein.bsky.social offers some nuance to the meta-analysis of Nudging that is doing the rounds:
buff.ly/QVMFAte
December 14, 2025 at 7:51 PM
Are nudges ineffectual?
@casssunstein.bsky.social offers some nuance to the meta-analysis of Nudging that is doing the rounds:
buff.ly/QVMFAte
@casssunstein.bsky.social offers some nuance to the meta-analysis of Nudging that is doing the rounds:
buff.ly/QVMFAte
Modern life confronts us with a uniquely large and diverse set of risks.
@renato_frey.mstdn.science.ap.brid.gy & Fischer mapped 100 of them using a large Swiss survey, collectively a rich, comprehensive inventory across life domains, superior to conventional selections:
buff.ly/6CKJFRW
@renato_frey.mstdn.science.ap.brid.gy & Fischer mapped 100 of them using a large Swiss survey, collectively a rich, comprehensive inventory across life domains, superior to conventional selections:
buff.ly/6CKJFRW
December 14, 2025 at 5:35 PM
Modern life confronts us with a uniquely large and diverse set of risks.
@renato_frey.mstdn.science.ap.brid.gy & Fischer mapped 100 of them using a large Swiss survey, collectively a rich, comprehensive inventory across life domains, superior to conventional selections:
buff.ly/6CKJFRW
@renato_frey.mstdn.science.ap.brid.gy & Fischer mapped 100 of them using a large Swiss survey, collectively a rich, comprehensive inventory across life domains, superior to conventional selections:
buff.ly/6CKJFRW
One bite out of a chocolate Saint Nicolas—save the rest for later… or scoff the lot?
Contradictory maxims correspond to different intuitions.
Hoe to choose what is right *for us*?
buff.ly/PTaJXjk
Contradictory maxims correspond to different intuitions.
Hoe to choose what is right *for us*?
buff.ly/PTaJXjk
December 14, 2025 at 4:09 PM
One bite out of a chocolate Saint Nicolas—save the rest for later… or scoff the lot?
Contradictory maxims correspond to different intuitions.
Hoe to choose what is right *for us*?
buff.ly/PTaJXjk
Contradictory maxims correspond to different intuitions.
Hoe to choose what is right *for us*?
buff.ly/PTaJXjk
Thoroughly enjoyed the new episode of @ptbeatles.bsky.social on a track that really exemplifies the Beatles’ evolution into experimenters— Tomorrow Never Knows.
It’s been a long time coming, but it was worth the wait!
buff.ly/PYSGGG3
It’s been a long time coming, but it was worth the wait!
buff.ly/PYSGGG3
December 14, 2025 at 12:22 PM
Thoroughly enjoyed the new episode of @ptbeatles.bsky.social on a track that really exemplifies the Beatles’ evolution into experimenters— Tomorrow Never Knows.
It’s been a long time coming, but it was worth the wait!
buff.ly/PYSGGG3
It’s been a long time coming, but it was worth the wait!
buff.ly/PYSGGG3
We denken wel eens dat beslissingen nemen is veel minder een kwestie van rationeel afwegen van kosten en baten van verschillende opties, en veel meer het oplossen van conflicten.
Mijn @apache_be stukje, ICYMI, spit dat verschil verder uit:
buff.ly/E8Yzjkz
Mijn @apache_be stukje, ICYMI, spit dat verschil verder uit:
buff.ly/E8Yzjkz
December 14, 2025 at 11:35 AM
We denken wel eens dat beslissingen nemen is veel minder een kwestie van rationeel afwegen van kosten en baten van verschillende opties, en veel meer het oplossen van conflicten.
Mijn @apache_be stukje, ICYMI, spit dat verschil verder uit:
buff.ly/E8Yzjkz
Mijn @apache_be stukje, ICYMI, spit dat verschil verder uit:
buff.ly/E8Yzjkz
We have obligations to others—but to ourselves, too, research by @laura_soter et al suggests (eg looking after ourselves):
•distinct from preferences/social conventions
•both justify moral violations (unlike eg personal goals)
•harm is a factor in both
buff.ly/0kuobe4
•distinct from preferences/social conventions
•both justify moral violations (unlike eg personal goals)
•harm is a factor in both
buff.ly/0kuobe4
December 14, 2025 at 9:18 AM
We have obligations to others—but to ourselves, too, research by @laura_soter et al suggests (eg looking after ourselves):
•distinct from preferences/social conventions
•both justify moral violations (unlike eg personal goals)
•harm is a factor in both
buff.ly/0kuobe4
•distinct from preferences/social conventions
•both justify moral violations (unlike eg personal goals)
•harm is a factor in both
buff.ly/0kuobe4
Intelligence, like artistic talent, is not as rare as we think. We only see it when it’s *cultivated*—and curiosity is central to this:
buff.ly/UCioL5s
buff.ly/UCioL5s
December 14, 2025 at 7:53 AM
Intelligence, like artistic talent, is not as rare as we think. We only see it when it’s *cultivated*—and curiosity is central to this:
buff.ly/UCioL5s
buff.ly/UCioL5s
Carbon capture can be an instrument to combat climate change, but it divides opinions, writes @byng.bsky.social:
buff.ly/lAFMPCB
buff.ly/lAFMPCB
December 14, 2025 at 7:36 AM
Carbon capture can be an instrument to combat climate change, but it divides opinions, writes @byng.bsky.social:
buff.ly/lAFMPCB
buff.ly/lAFMPCB
Did you know that England has its own ancient rainforest?
Forester John Williamson makes the introduction and explains how he extracts its wood and creates charcoal from it in a way that supports and sustains it in this short documentary:
aeon.co/videos/in-an...
Forester John Williamson makes the introduction and explains how he extracts its wood and creates charcoal from it in a way that supports and sustains it in this short documentary:
aeon.co/videos/in-an...
December 13, 2025 at 9:07 PM
Did you know that England has its own ancient rainforest?
Forester John Williamson makes the introduction and explains how he extracts its wood and creates charcoal from it in a way that supports and sustains it in this short documentary:
aeon.co/videos/in-an...
Forester John Williamson makes the introduction and explains how he extracts its wood and creates charcoal from it in a way that supports and sustains it in this short documentary:
aeon.co/videos/in-an...
How "6 7"—one of the more surreal viral phenomena—had an economic impact, on a burger, a frosty, and some wings:
econlife.com/2025/12/numb...
econlife.com/2025/12/numb...
December 13, 2025 at 6:19 PM
How "6 7"—one of the more surreal viral phenomena—had an economic impact, on a burger, a frosty, and some wings:
econlife.com/2025/12/numb...
econlife.com/2025/12/numb...
Could you make an atheist believe in God with a 10k bribe? And would the resulting belief be endorsed by God?
Jimmy Alfonso Licon conducts an interesting thought experiment:
buff.ly/mGLUSiG
Jimmy Alfonso Licon conducts an interesting thought experiment:
buff.ly/mGLUSiG
December 13, 2025 at 5:35 PM
Could you make an atheist believe in God with a 10k bribe? And would the resulting belief be endorsed by God?
Jimmy Alfonso Licon conducts an interesting thought experiment:
buff.ly/mGLUSiG
Jimmy Alfonso Licon conducts an interesting thought experiment:
buff.ly/mGLUSiG
An unexpected predictor of academic (reading, writing, maths) and cognitive skills: fine motor skills
Meta-analysis by Suggate et al suggests an especially strong correlation with grapho-motor skills (handwriting), which persists with age:
buff.ly/rPdRp1s
Meta-analysis by Suggate et al suggests an especially strong correlation with grapho-motor skills (handwriting), which persists with age:
buff.ly/rPdRp1s
December 13, 2025 at 4:09 PM
An unexpected predictor of academic (reading, writing, maths) and cognitive skills: fine motor skills
Meta-analysis by Suggate et al suggests an especially strong correlation with grapho-motor skills (handwriting), which persists with age:
buff.ly/rPdRp1s
Meta-analysis by Suggate et al suggests an especially strong correlation with grapho-motor skills (handwriting), which persists with age:
buff.ly/rPdRp1s
Strange things can happen when we get to chat to a stranger on the train.
What if we feel a chemistry, a curious attraction that makes our heart race—should we seize the moment and act upon it, or be more circumspect and weigh up whether we should?
buff.ly/5r5XEp9
What if we feel a chemistry, a curious attraction that makes our heart race—should we seize the moment and act upon it, or be more circumspect and weigh up whether we should?
buff.ly/5r5XEp9
December 13, 2025 at 12:22 PM
Strange things can happen when we get to chat to a stranger on the train.
What if we feel a chemistry, a curious attraction that makes our heart race—should we seize the moment and act upon it, or be more circumspect and weigh up whether we should?
buff.ly/5r5XEp9
What if we feel a chemistry, a curious attraction that makes our heart race—should we seize the moment and act upon it, or be more circumspect and weigh up whether we should?
buff.ly/5r5XEp9