“No plan survives first contact with the enemy. What matters is how quickly the leader is able to adapt.” — Tim Harford Copy Share Image
There's nothing wrong with a plan, but remember Von Moltke's famous dictum that no plan survives first contact with the enemy. The danger is a plan that seduces us into thinking failure is impossible and adaptation is unnecessary - a… — Tim Harford Copy Share Image
“The evolutionary algorithm--of variation and selection, repeated--searches for solutions in a world where the problems keep changing, trying all sorts of variants and doing… — Tim Harford Copy Share Image
There's lots and lots of guys out there. The question is trying to find the right one. — Tim Harford Copy Share Image
If the whole process of learning from failure means discarding stuff that's not working, but in fact, our natural reaction is to keep going,… — Tim Harford Copy Share Image
In many ways, love seems to be totally divorced from economics. But then you realize - well, the stakes are high. This is something… — Tim Harford Copy Share Image
I don't think Brian Cox does 'The Wonders of the Solar System' because he believes the world would be a better place if people… — Tim Harford Copy Share Image
Our society is intertwined with the economy that we've built, which is a fantastically complex system. I hope that my writing about it might… — Tim Harford Copy Share Image
You show me a successful complex system, and I will show you a system that has evolved through trial and error. — Tim Harford Copy Share Image
I think the association of economics with forecasting is unfortunate and is down to the fact that one great way to get an investment… — Tim Harford Copy Share Image
The more grotesque your boss's pay and the less he has do to earn it, the bigger the motivation for you to work with… — Tim Harford Copy Share Image
Bill Phillips was this nervous, chain-smoking student. He had signed up to be an engineer, he had gone away to fight in the Second… — Tim Harford Copy Share Image
“We should aim to make ours a world where people feel free to do things they enjoy, even if others are mildly inconvenienced, but… — Tim Harford Copy Share Image
Loss aversion is a really disproportionate anxiety about stuff that doesn't matter very much. So for instance, if you lose $5, you feel really… — Tim Harford Copy Share Image
