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Your questions answered - Do the Maasai in Africa number one million? Is it true that a quarter of Americans do not know the Earth goes round the sun? Are half of Tasmanians innumerate and illiterate…
Published on 11 years, 9 months ago
WS MoreOrLess: Modern Slavery
Are there 21 million slaves in the world today? Director of 12 Years a Slave, Steve McQueen, made this claim at both the Oscars and the BAFTAs while accepting awards. More or Less looks into the defi…
Published on 11 years, 9 months ago
The 10,000 hours rule
Becoming a pro on practice alone – is that possible? Or do you need innate talent? After reading books promoting the idea, a photographer with no natural talent explains how he is practising for 10,0…
Published on 11 years, 9 months ago
WS MoreOrLess: Neknomination Outbreak
The rise and fall of an online epidemic: How studying the spread of infectious diseases suggests the global drinking craze Neknomination will fizzle out. Drinkers post videos of their exploits and no…
Published on 11 years, 10 months ago
Love by numbers
Can economics help you find love? Tim Harford and the team look at the maths behind modern match-making. Economist Michele Belot from the University of Edinburgh explains why women are pickier than m…
Published on 11 years, 10 months ago
Rising drug overdose deaths
In the US, more people are dying from drug overdoses than from road traffic accidents and firearms. As headlines are filled with the news that actor Philip Seymour Hoffman died from an overdose recen…
Published on 11 years, 10 months ago
WS MoreOrLess: Immigration
How much do migrants cost or benefit a nation? Plus, planning a wedding - when you have friends and family all around the world and a finite number of places at the venue, how do you work out how man…
Published on 11 years, 10 months ago
The 50p tax rate
Chancellor George Osborne says a 50p tax rate does not bring in much revenue; Shadow Chancellor Ed Balls says it does. Tim Harford takes a look at why it is so hard to pin down how much tax is owed b…
Published on 11 years, 10 months ago
WS MoreOrLess: Alcohol risk
Do two large glasses of wine triple your risk of mouth cancer, as claimed on a health leaflet spotted by a sceptical listener? Tim Harford examines the difficulties of extracting smoking from the equ…
Published on 11 years, 11 months ago
Immigration
What does a detailed look at immigration statistics tell us about the benefits, or otherwise, of welcoming overseas citizens? Plus, is it true that by the age of 60, more than twice as many women as …
Published on 11 years, 11 months ago