The past has a peculiar grip on us. Whether it’s the comforting sound of a song from our childhood, the taste of a long-discontinued snack, or the grainy aesthetic of an old video game, nostalgia has a way of making us yearn for things that once were. While it may seem like a purely sentimental experience, nostalgia is also a powerful economic force, influencing consumer behaviour, corporate strategy and even financial markets. In recent years, companies have exploited this longing

With February drawing to a close, an important holiday is upon us, namely that of Pancake Day,[1] otherwise known as Shrove Tuesday and/or Mardi Gras. This day marks the end of the carnival season in Christian tradition and is a day of indulgence in preparation for Lent (unless you’re part of the Oriental Orthodox church, in which case you warm up with a pre-Lenten fast – lucky you). Beginning with Ash Wednesday, Lent, which comes from an Old English word meaning

I’m tired of people telling me that they are 4D chess players when they do something foolish. 4D chess is for losers. 4D poker is for winners. As a 4D poker player myself – the best at poker – I explain how to play. Politicians, take note. Have only vague familiarity with the rules. I know that having more high cards, more things in a row and more of the same suit is good, but I am too busy and

I’ve always wondered what it’s like to be a lefty. Do people treat you differently? Have you got a more optimistic outlook on the world? Is the welfare state a necessity? These are all questions a leftist may or may not know the answers to. But are there any key differences between the ordinary, run-of-the-mill righty and the mythical, scarcely found left-handed person? Research suggests that only 10-12% of the world’s population is left-handed. As a result, there are many

After two and a half years, my time at Fathom Consulting has come to an end, and I could not think of a better way of wrapping up my journey here than by summarising what has undoubtedly been a great career experience. So, put your seatbelts on, because you are in for an interesting ride! I started working for Fathom Consulting in October 2022, first remotely from Spain for some time, due to Visa issues — thanks, Brexit — before

I had a few friends over for dinner last Saturday, with them all kindly taking the time to travel down to my home in Guildford, from London. It was a nice evening, we had a good chat, and enjoyed some food and wine. It was only when I was clearing up at the end of the night that I realised I was left with more wine than I started the night with! And, that got me wondering, had I turned

Ski trip season is upon us, and a recent conversation with a person in the fashion industry, whose main customer base is in the Alps, left me puzzled. They said that for customers to consider purchasing their clothes, they had to increase their prices. However, the rule of demand, one of the basic principles of economic theory, states that the demand for a good decreases as its price increases. I discussed this with some colleagues during lunch one day, where

“No one would have believed in the last years of the nineteenth century that this world was being watched keenly and closely by intelligences greater than man’s and yet as mortal as his own; that as men busied themselves about their various concerns they were scrutinised and studied, perhaps almost as narrowly as a man with a microscope might scrutinise the transient creatures that swarm and multiply in a drop of water.” H.G. Wells, War of the Worlds (1898) Whenever

I had some holiday days to use up recently and wanted to plan a little trip to get out of London. Needing a visa to go to most European countries, I decided that somewhere within the UK would work best. Edinburgh stood out, a beautiful city, far away enough from London to make me feel like I’ve actually gone somewhere, while still being within the borders of the UK. When deciding how to get there, I was quite certain that

In between Christmas and New Year, when my thoughts turn to future holidays, I like to open a weather app and marvel at the fact that the temperature is warmer where I live in London than it is on my favourite surfing beach in Devon. It seems wrong that the West Country, imaginatively linked in my mind with sunshine and warmth, should be colder than grey, windy, rainy London — but it is; and not just in winter, but all