Motivation
The Hot Hand Was Called a Myth for Decades. Then the Math Flipped
A 1985 study called basketball's hot hand an illusion. A 2018 math fix found a modest one in the same data. How to use a streak without overbetting it.
Risk
Wealth
The janitor who left almost $8 million, and the part you can't copy
Ronald Read, a Vermont janitor, left close to $8 million. Some of how he got there can be repeated. Some of it was timing and luck.
Wealth
Ben Franklin's 200-Year Money Experiment, and Where It Leaked
In 1789, Ben Franklin left £1,000 each to Boston and Philadelphia and projected huge compound growth. Here's where 200 years of real compounding leaked.
Wealth
Shirtsleeves to shirtsleeves? What Florence's 1427 tax rolls say
A proverb says family wealth vanishes in three generations. Florence's 1427 tax records and the Vanderbilt story suggest it's only half-true.
Motivation
5,000/1: What Leicester City's title says about luck and effort
Leicester City won the 2015–16 Premier League at 5,000/1. Split the season into luck and effort, and a more useful lesson appears: stay ready.
Wealth
What Isaac Newton Really Lost in the South Sea Bubble
Newton didn't go broke in 1720. He took an early profit, bought back in, and lost more than he'd made. What the records show, and the trap that caught him.
Wealth
A 1494 rule of thumb that still explains your money
The Rule of 72 turns any rate into years. Where it came from, why it works, and the three places it quietly breaks. Education only, no tips.