Tim Harford
Economist and journalist; Financial Times columnist as The Undercover Economist, author of How to Make the World Add Up, and presenter of the Cautionary Tales podcast.
Tim Harford did not write this page.
We collected these quotes from things they published elsewhere, and every quote links to where it was said. They have no account here and have not endorsed this site. Quotes are word for word; the short line under each one is our own restatement, not their wording. Their own site. Is this you? Claim it or ask us to remove it. Or tell us what is wrong here.
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world modelsbehavioural science
Their wordsNo supercomputing was required: Shannon's machine had just 16 bits of memory. We humans are not hard to read.
↗Random is as random doestimharford.com 1st of 3 in this piece
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Their wordsNone of these methods guarantees success, but they do improve your odds because most setters of multiple-choice questions are more predictable than they realise.
↗Random is as random doestimharford.com 2nd of 3 in this piece
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Our reading
A tossed coin is more likely to land on the same face it started on than on the opposite face.
Their wordsPersi Diaconis, celebrated both as a mathematician and magician, has found that a coin toss is, in general, a 51/49 proposition in favour of finishing the same way up that it started.
↗Random is as random doestimharford.com 3rd of 3 in this piece
- 7 days earlier
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Their wordsFirst, if most of our beliefs are handed to us by the society in which we live, it is vital that our society itself values truth and truth-telling.
↗Why the story of the Vegetable Lamb was believedtimharford.com 1st of 2 in this piece
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Our reading
It is worthwhile to pause and think critically about what other people tell you before accepting it
Their wordsSecond, it is never a bad idea to stop and think for a moment about what other people tell you.
↗Why the story of the Vegetable Lamb was believedtimharford.com 2nd of 2 in this piece
- 7 days earlier
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Our reading
Serious policy reform requires changing regulations or the tax system, not just behavioural nudges.
Their wordsI've also argued that while nudges can be quick, easy and effective, serious policy action usually requires a change to regulations or the tax system.
↗Nudge or tax? At last, some datatimharford.com 1st of 2 in this piece
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Their wordsAll too often, politicians are turning their back on the most beneficial policies because they lack the political courage or the political skill to introduce them.
↗Nudge or tax? At last, some datatimharford.com 2nd of 2 in this piece
- 7 days earlier
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Their wordsIn short: the awkward group did better but believed they did worse.
↗The Big Power of Small Annoyancestimharford.com 1st of 3 in this piece
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Their wordsThe irony is that gamification is a brittle imitation of an actual game.
↗The Big Power of Small Annoyancestimharford.com 2nd of 3 in this piece
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Our reading
Turning a game into a means to a broader purpose risks destroying the fun that makes it a game.
Their wordsAfter all, if a game takes on a broader purpose then it risks no longer being fun. And a game that is no fun isn't much of a game.
↗The Big Power of Small Annoyancestimharford.com 3rd of 3 in this piece