Revealed Priorities is a blog about the gap between what we say we value and what our actions reveal we actually prioritise.

The name comes from “revealed preferences” in economics - the idea that you can infer what people actually want by observing their choices, not their stated preferences. The standard interpretation is fatalistic: if you scroll TikTok instead of reading Tolstoy, you really do prefer TikTok, regardless of what you say you value. Your behaviour reveals your true preferences. End of story.

I prefer “revealed priorities” because it’s more optimistic and agentic. Your behaviour reveals what you’re currently prioritising, not what you’re capable of prioritising or what you ultimately want. There’s often a gap between those two things. That gap can be closed - by removing friction, changing environments, or (sometimes) with pharmacological help. The goal isn’t fatalistic acceptance. It’s honest assessment as the starting point for change.

What I Write About

  • Self-optimisation as engineering: Treating productivity, decision-making, and behaviour change as machine problems (not moral ones)
  • Epistemics and reasoning: How to think clearly, update beliefs, and build judgment as a force multiplier
  • Systems and tools: Technical infrastructure, automation, and friction reduction that enable value-aligned action
  • Economic and political philosophy: Makers vs takers, signalling theory, healthcare reform
  • Uncoupling ambition from applause: Maintaining drive and growth without requiring external validation as the motivator

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