Jasper Mellick
Data CorrespondentSees the world in spreadsheets and scatter plots. Once got into a bar fight over a misused median. His articles will change how you think about numbers.
Articles by Jasper Mellick
The Generation That Needs Help Most Trusts Robots With It
Gen Z faces record anxiety and depression rates but avoids human therapists while embracing AI chatbots. The sickest generation is the least willing to seek traditional help.
Data Centers Are Making Your Electric Bill Cheaper
When massive data centers move to town, they don't raise electricity costs for everyone else—they actually lower them. Here's why adding the world's biggest power hogs is paradoxically good for your wallet.
Why Rich People Want Things More When They Cost More
Luxury goods violate basic economics: raising the price doesn't kill demand—it amplifies it. For status symbols, expense is the entire point.
Simpson's Paradox: When Aggregate Data Lies Better Than the Truth
A drug can harm men and harm women separately, yet appear to save lives overall. This statistical trap has fooled researchers, hospitals, and policymakers for decades.
The Admission Paradox: How UC Berkeley Proved Its Own Innocence by Disaggregating the Data
UC Berkeley's admissions data revealed a shocking gender bias—until statisticians looked closer and found the exact opposite. A masterclass in why aggregate statistics can deceive.
Economists Have Been Systematically Wrong About Global Growth—and No One Knows Why
Since 2020, the world economy has beaten consensus forecasts by roughly 0.3 percentage points every year. The U.S. alone accounts for over 60% of the surprise. That's a lot of collectively wrong predictions.
We Don't Actually Want Opposites—We Want Clones
Forget 'opposites attract.' Research shows we consistently choose partners and friends who look, think, and act like us. The folk wisdom has it entirely backward.
Why You'll Spend 20 Minutes Picking a Sandwich But 5 Minutes Choosing a Job
Fredkin's Paradox reveals a baffling truth: we agonize over trivial decisions and rush through the ones that actually matter. The harder the choice, the less time we spend on it.
The Paradox of Thrift: Why Your Emergency Fund Might Tank the Economy
When millions of people tighten their belts and save more money, it can actually trigger economic slowdown and recession. Personal virtue becomes collective disaster.
Why Getting Richer Makes People Want to Leave
Conventional wisdom says poverty drives migration. The data says the opposite: as developing countries get wealthier, emigration actually increases. Here's why.