Going to sleep at night, in bed with a hot water bottle and a teddy bear, it is comforting to know that somewhere some academic is toiling away, advancing the frontiers of knowledge. Associate Professor Ranjit Voola of the University of Sydney Business School has done this. Read more
What is the difference between automatically enrolling workers in KiwiSaver and putting a housefly sticker in a urinal for men to aim at? Any well-read economist will tell you that both are oft-cited examples inspired by behavioural economics and ‘nudge’ theory. Read more
For those of us who think elections should be about policies and not about politics, MMP presents a special kind of purgatory. It is one day short of a fortnight since the election but are we any closer to knowing the result? Read more
We do not know what government will form after party negotiations move past the Phoney War stage. But we do know the problems facing any incoming government. Read more
According to the Economist Intelligence Unit, New Zealand leads the world in ‘educating for the future’. Their latest index, compiled in London, evaluates the extent to which the inputs to education systems prioritise ‘future skills’. Read more
A solipsist is a person who believes that only they exist. For a solipsist, the external world only exists through their perception of it. Read more
New Zealand is on track to have its fourth consecutive rise in the road toll this year. In raw numbers, 206 car occupants have died so far this year, already exceeding the entire year’s totals for each of 2013 and 2014. Read more
When I am commenting on the New Zealand election, I have an unfair advantage. Having grown up in a country that has been practising MMP for almost seven decades, I am well versed in it. Read more
Once it was a colour combination frowned upon in the world of fashion (or so I am told). But apparently haute couture has moved on. Read more
A popular myth is that NASA spent millions of dollars producing a writing pen for the Apollo space programme. The space pen could write in zero gravity and would not leak combustible graphite into an oxygen rich space capsule. Read more
New Zealanders are lazy patriots and even worse politicians. In last week’s election, a bit more than a fifth of us held onto our vote and hoped for the best. Read more
We probably all lost count how many times we have now heard the phrase “that extraordinary election this year.” And indeed, by all accounts, it was unusual in many ways. Since Bill English announced the election date on 1 February, we have had nearly eight months of campaigning. Read more
Every now and then, you come across an idea that makes you wonder why you had never thought of it before. I experienced such a moment on Tuesday when I met American author, speaker and entrepreneur Lisa Witter. Read more
‘Twas the night before the election When all through the think tank Not a creature was stirring Because frankly, all we can do now is sit and wait. While the outcome of the election remains anyone’s guess, one thing is certain. Read more
A flock of buzzards. A den of snakes. Read more