The case for austerity The inaugural meeting of the American Economic Association was held on the 4th January 2010. Two giants in the world of economics; Professor Carmen Reinhart and former chief economist of the International Monetary Fund, Ken Rogoff were present. They presented their research paper, “Growth in a Time of Debt”. The headline […]
What Gets Rewarded Gets Done
The walk I have always thought sheep dogs were intelligent. I didn’t realise, until recently, that they are smarter than me. I was walking with Kate — a friend of mine. Her sheep dog, a Border Collie called Harvey, was with us. After 10 miles or so Harvey seemed to be flagging. He stopped at […]
Quantum Mechanics and Customer Service
This is a guest post Quantum mechanics poses an interesting problem. Measuring a system tells us it’s current state, but the act of measurement also changes it. This isn’t just a problem for scientists This problem was going through my mind as I collected my Ford family wagon from it’s trip to my local dealership. It […]
The Beauty of Low Tech
This is a guest post I had my eyes tested at Specsavers a couple of weeks ago: I got my eye test, but not without three separate initiatives on my part and one wasted trip to the store. Too much technology All of this happened despite Specsavers having: Perhaps they had taken a leaf out […]
The Management Secrets Every Primary School Teacher Knows
This is a guest post. Like most parents of young children I am locked in long-term trench warfare, trying to “encourage” them to go along with all the dull things that me and their mother want them to do. Following the advice of the TV experts, I decided to try using a sticker chart to reward […]