The Big Red Bus Problem

The Big Red Bus Problem

I recently got my driver’s licence after having put it off for many years. Apart from the tricky business of navigating big UK roundabouts, it turned out that I had an aversion to buses. My driving instructor would frequently ask me why I was slowing down upon seeing...
On happiness and regret

On happiness and regret

To chase happiness — whether through excess wealth, status achievements or spiritual attainment — is to live in regret. Constantly having our eye on some future prize produces the psychological feeling of missed opportunity and scarcity. The feeling that we need to...
Becoming a parody of yourself

Becoming a parody of yourself

When you have a good run of something or feel you’ve done your ‘best’ work, it’s easy to fall into the trap of trying to copy yourself. This is the trap of trying to re-produce past success and it’s the quick path to becoming a parody of yourself. You only create...
The fallacy of personal progress

The fallacy of personal progress

Humanity has achieved vast material and technological improvements — things are the best they’ve ever been in this realm. Likewise, we’ve made many social improvements in terms of freedoms, equality and justice in many parts of the world compared to even a century...
10 good books I read in 2023

10 good books I read in 2023

10 good books I read in 2023. In no particular order: 1) The New Leviathans (2023) — John Gray Political philosopher, Gray’s latest book is a sobering meditation on the precarious future of the liberal project, along with an exploration of those illiberal Leviathans...