Writing
Land Ownership Makes No Sense
The earth is a shared inheritance, and profiting off a common resource is just wrong.
![](https://media.wired.com/photos/6452e75c7b25a434b1f3bc5f/191:100/w_1280,c_limit/ideas_land_ownership_philosophy.jpg)
with Jehan Azad. WIRED Magazine, May 2023
Home co-working: The people creating collaborative workspaces with friends
Though coffee shops and libraries can be great places to gather, some people are working alongside friends in their personal spaces instead.
![](https://ychef.files.bbci.co.uk/live/624x351/p0fgly5h.jpg)
BBC, April 2023
The Cure for Hiccups Exists
And it’s free.
![](https://cdn.theatlantic.com/thumbor/m-ko5GnmNGG2uIUqof2ktrFcGS4=/1x62:2500x1364/1200x625/media/img/mt/2023/02/hiccups_dip/original.jpg)
The Atlantic, February 2023
The Two Best Ways to Win at Wordle
According to crossword masters.
![](https://compote.slate.com/images/0ec5c983-1d31-4fce-b12b-60095075fc36.jpeg?width=1560&rect=1560x1040&offset=0x0)
with Nate Cardin. Slate, 2022
Topic: Surprise, Drowsy Cows RIP, as Corrected (2,5,7,10)
cryptic crosswords are infuriating; you should try them, you’ll love them
![](https://popula.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Araucaria_araucana_cones-e1628056526699.jpg?resize=1200,630)
Popula, August 2021
How can I be more productive?
By thinking like an economist, you could do twice as much work in half the time. Sort of
![](https://www.economist.com/img/b/2453/1381/90/1843magazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/il_manual_crop_16_9/public/procrastination-version-2-web.jpg)
The Economist, January 2018
The extraordinary silliness of American college grading
The current system penalises students who stretch themselves. What will it take to make it fairer?
![](https://www.economist.com/img/b/1804/1014/90/1843magazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/il_manual_crop_16_9/public/1843_us_college-web.jpg)
The Economist, October 2017
Nice ice baby!
Gelato is not just another name for ice cream: the real stuff is lower in fat and tastes and behaves rather differently. Uri Bram discovers what goes into making perfect gelati – and why they are rarely found in the supermarket
![](https://www.economist.com/img/b/1647/925/90/1843magazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/il_manual_crop_16_9/public/201708_FD_GEL_01-HEADER.jpg)
The Economist, September 2017
Is learning to drive a waste of money?
Once a rite of passage, driving lessons seem a pointless expense, thanks to ride-sharing services and the dawn of driverless cars
![](https://www.economist.com/img/b/2272/1277/90/1843magazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/il_manual_crop_16_9/public/driving_final-copy.png)
The Economist, December 2016
How game theory improves dating apps
Too much unwanted attention turns female users off online dating. Economics provides a solution
![](https://www.economist.com/img/b/1987/1120/90/1843magazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/il_manual_crop_16_9/public/dating_apps_header-DARK_0.jpg)
The Economist, November 2016
The Limits of Formal Learning, or Why Robots Can’t Dance
The 1980s at the MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory seemed to outsiders like a golden age, but inside, David Chapman could already see that winter was coming. As a member of the lab, Chapman was the first researcher to apply the mathematics of computational complexity theory to robot planning and to show mathematically […]
![](https://assets.nautil.us/10362_c8b9abffb45bf79a630fb613dcd23449.jpg?auto=compress&fm=pjpg&ixlib=php-3.3.1)
Nautilus, September 2016
Why Won’t This Inspirational Email Chain Letter Leave Me Alone?
A few times each year, a particular chain letter pops up in my inbox. “We’re starting a collective, constructive, and hopefully uplifting exchange,” it starts, exhorting me to send a “favorite text / verse / meditation” to a previous participant in the chain, and to forward the message to another 20 friends. In my personal […]
![](https://assets.nautil.us/9657_c4bf1e24f3e6f92ca9dfd9a7a1a1049c.jpg?auto=compress&fm=pjpg&ixlib=php-3.3.1)
Nautilus, June 2016
Neuroscience of Early-Life Learning in C. elegans
Scientists identify the brain circuits with which newly hatched nematodes form and retrieve a lifelong aversive olfactory memory.
![](https://cdn.the-scientist.com/assets/articleNo/34052/aImg/9284/neuroscience-of-early-life-learning-in-em-c-elegans-em-m.jpg)
The Scientist, February 2016
Why your internet connection is slow wherever you are in Africa
Hint: There’s nothing wrong with Africa’s internet connections.
![](https://i.kinja-img.com/image/upload/c_fill,h_675,pg_1,q_80,w_1200/839412586c955f7c3beb5dcf5f836743.jpg)
Quartz, February 2016
Don’t Tidy Your Room
When I was a teenager I read Stephen Hawking’s A Brief History of Time. Instead of taking this beautiful book as a path to something useful, like a career in
![](https://www.thesmartset.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/LS_BRAM_TIDY_FI_001-985x1024.png)
The Smart Set, January 2016
The Reverse Turing Test: Pretending to Be a Chatbot Is Harder Than You Think
Until I tried being a bot, I don’t think I gave my brain enough credit.
![](https://web.archive.org/web/20230608060308im_/https://images.vice.com/motherboard/content-images/article/22977/1435027386670417.jpg?image-resize-opts=Y3JvcD0xeHc6MC40ODk3MzMwNTk1NDgyNTQ2M3hoO2NlbnRlcixjZW50ZXImcmVzaXplPTEyMDA6KiZyZXNpemU9MTIwMDoq)
Motherboard, June 2015
News/Interview/Editorial
Abstract. DNA tests and disease risk – what do the numbers mean? Using probability lessons to beat problem gambling. Missing crimes in English police records. A
![](https://oup.silverchair-cdn.com/oup/backfile/Content_public/Journal/jrssig/12/1/10.1111_j.1740-9713.2015.00795.x/1/m_sign_12_1_2_gra-1.jpeg?Expires=1771539753&Signature=bjM6bv7le0l1WFN4dVpBiyuADNc0T4jr244kMtMl9ToprS4~48rsVbMUSql6UouPLjHHLDgvSg0ijzqW7DpVbsAOBVi~8ul2Qpaw5PXBjqe5Ncm1bsED7jeexBfOyRwI-dQBzfm9i4F14ca6ohoS2815YsIrOQnZIIRL-ZeaUUikMLpg5KNpRuic~XakYTUkrpE2iabxHWkp4kD93xRBfW-Sa9eFS26DIt0r8qpOmoKUQBYyjiPXoAfcNHJQL6j072r99xI9s5r-gF1tAssCpTz83KKpxyKtFMa~PonHoEaFsnd9VMtgbtPIXBgqImfnw6TmYneu0S~pJ5~sVOiqag__&Key-Pair-Id=APKAIE5G5CRDK6RD3PGA)
Significance, February 2015
The most important person at your company doesn’t work for you
The rest of us would rather keep our jobs.
![](https://i.kinja-img.com/image/upload/c_fill,h_675,pg_1,q_80,w_1200/ecbd908fd6cca510b28be4cabf2d80ef.jpg)
Quartz, November 2014
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