Don't sweat the small stuff

Parkinson's Law of Triviality, or 'bikeshedding', is the hook: we agonise over a £350 bike shed while nodding through a £10m nuclear plant because the small decision is easier to have an opinion on. Taylor applies it to personal finance (haggling over a phone contract while ignoring the pension) and to the national narrative that blames young people's finances on brunches rather than graduate pay, student loans and house prices. It is a light, thought-provoking piece rather than a spec-heavy one, best for behavioural economics, bounded rationality and the opportunity cost of attention. Accessible to all students and a good discussion starter, especially when challenging lazy explanations of economic problems. Firmly towards the enrichment end.  Read here