The danger of Dylanomics
The problem with attempts to make everything in life more scientific is that reality hates generalisation. You can try to…
The beauty of ‘theft-tanks’
The Conservative party leadership contest is a milestone for diversity and inclusion. This time, we get to choose between someone…
What’s in my frunk?
Hello, and welcome to episode one of What’s in My Frunk?, the first in an occasional Spectator series of news…
The happiness paradox
In the 1980s, the great advertising writer John Webster described the following paradox. As he saw it, the dream of…
Why secondhand cars are first-rate
The Department for Transport recently ended a £1,500 subsidy towards the price of new, lower-priced electric cars one year earlier…
Not everything has to be a trade-off
‘It is vital that we see a return to face-to-face meetings to foster the dynamic collaboration that creates breakthrough ideas.’…
End of the road
When my daughters learned to drive, I suggested they take their tests in automatics as driving manual cars would soon…
Signs of the times
My driveway now lies in the middle of an ‘Average Speed Check Zone’. It’s a wonderful arrangement – for me…
The hidden cost of parked cars
Much of the current antipathy towards the car derives from the excessive influence Londoners exert over national debates. London is…
Heart’s content
According to Pliny the Elder, Scipio Aemilianus was the first man to shave daily. The origin of the name Boeing…
The price of youth
In evolutionary terms, it is obvious why we get more conservative with age. Two strong forces, acting in the same…
How to create a bottleneck
I spend quite a lot of time attacking what I call ‘motorway service station’ path design. More attentive readers of…
Monopoly rules
Here’s a useful tip. Go to the Royal Mail websiteand you can ask your postman to collect letters or parcels…
Making a meal of it
‘The opposite of a correct statement is a false statement. But the opposite of a profound truth may well be…
Seeing is believing
In Jake’s Thing, Kingsley Amis gave it a name: he called it ‘the inverted pyramid of piss’: ‘One of [Geoffrey…
A lot of bottle
Thirteen years ago we shared an office building with a large international bank. A common lift connected both businesses to…
Things you didn’t know you needed
The explosion in remote and flexible working accelerated by the pandemic slightly supports my assertion that the most important limits…
The meeting of minds
I learned a great deal at university, about half of it from a man called Raymond Foulk. Ray was not…
Above the laws
Fairly early in the pandemic it was widely accepted in scientific circles that the likelihood of outdoor transmission of Covid…
Taking back control
A friend of mine recently visited a company in Europe which plans to manufacture human-carrying, pilotless drones. These would be…
When push comes to shove
One thing that surprised every-one during lockdown was how many people derived unexpected pleasure from living under imposed restrictions. Can…
What will you buy that others won’t?
In 1966, the legendary adman David Ogilvy set out to buy a home in France. He boarded a transatlantic liner…
Sometimes wrongs make a right
It is interesting to consider what would have happened if the Covid virus had emerged in 1921. Or 1821. Or…
The whole picture
There’s an intriguing conversation on YouTube between Mark Carney, former governor of the Bank of England, and the artist Damien…
The brave new world of work
Is flexible working better or worse for productivity? What is the correct blend of remote and office work? Billions of…
