Why predictable incentives don’t work too well

I see incentives as an intersection of two traits How predictable are they? How accurate are they? Predictability: Do I know of them beforehand Can I predict what they are Do I have an understanding of how it works Accuracy: Are they correctly measured? Are they...

Was he a success, or failure?

In 1983, a talented young guitarist was kicked out of his band. With apparently no warning. Handed over a bus ticket and told to go back home, 2 days before the band’s first recording On the journey back home, the guitarist, just as all of us, started speaking...

Rush hour

It takes me 40 mins to reach work everyday Anytime of the day The road is a smooth ride – traffic but not enough to stall. A 30km stretch with no red lights. But every now and then, someone with a sense of urgency will go berserk Change lanes Honk Brake...

What are you preparing for? And where?

Two stories that somehow found a connection I have been experiencing back pain persistently for 3 weeks now. Because of which I haven’t been to the gym these past 3 weeks And I have been missing it Missing it – because that’s where I feel I prepared...

There is always a reason why

In a seminal 2002 study, 3 scientists put 12-month old infants through an experiment Through a glass window, the infants saw a man enter a room. In front of the man was a large “something” with a huge button The man banged his head into the button and lo...

Realization

Most of us have been raised to admire the extra ordinary To be inspired by them To be in awe of them To want to become them BUT Most of us have been raised to be ordinary To be average To follow the herd To take the path already taken To admire is easy It’s easy...