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Stay Curious.
Make the most of your college experience.
Jeff Hulett
Curator, The Curiosity Vine
Stay Curious.
The Curiosity Vine is an idea incubator.
Our contributors have experience and interest in a variety of high-impact topics, such as science, technology, conservation, mathematics, data science, public policy, economics, and others. Our objective is to promote early-stage ideas, enable idea collaboration, and test idea purchase.
TCV platform is curated by Jeff Hulett.
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Learn about why you should join The Curiosity Vine.
TCV's ideas are used to provide seminars, write books, build businesses, and especially to help people.
So take a look around the site, feel free to ask or answer your own questions, and enjoy your own curiosity exploration!
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Featured Posts
An Investment in Emergence: 35 Years, Four Children, and the Generational Power of Everyday Faithfulness
Looking back on our journey together, my wife Patti and I feel such gratitude. We met over 40 years ago at the beginning of college and now approach our 35th wedding anniversary. Over those decades, four wonderful children (three sons and a daughter) blessed our lives, ranging from 31 down to our youngest, David, who is 25. Born roughly two years apart, watching them grow from energetic kids into healthy adults remains the great privilege of our lives. Recently, David got eng
The Boundaries of Power: What Economic History Teaches Us About the Proper Role of Government
Every generation faces a core question of political economy: What is the proper role of government? Historically, the debate waxes and wanes between expanded state intervention and restrained governance. Modern practice reveals a steady expansion of state power. Effective government does not represent a luxury; it represents a foundational necessity. As Adam Smith and classic commentators made clear, market societies require a government enforcing justice to function properly
The Classical Liberal’s Dilemma: Why Freedom Fails at the Ballot Box
When the Classical Liberal Revival Feels Real The impulse to dismantle the administrative state is a recurring rhythm in the history of governance, a perennial tension between the expanding reach of the bureaucracy and the enduring ideals of classical liberalism. While the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) stands as a recent historical attempt to prune the thicket of executive overreach, it follows a storied lineage of efforts to restore institutional accountability.
The Real Math Gap: How Incentives, Testing, and Home Agency Shape Modern Learning
The Misalignment of Modern Math → We teach high school and college mathematics as if our primary economic goal involves training human calculating machines. We spend hundreds of hours drilling students on hand-manipulating polynomials, evaluating complex integrals, and executing rigid algorithms under strict time limits. Yet, outside the classroom, almost no one calculates by hand. The modern economy does not need human calculators; it needs math orchestrators. An orchestrato
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An Investment in Emergence: 35 Years, Four Children, and the Generational Power of Everyday Faithfulness
Looking back on our journey together, my wife Patti and I feel such gratitude. We met over 40 years ago at the beginning of college and now approach our 35th wedding anniversary. Over those decades, four wonderful children (three sons and a daughter) blessed our lives, ranging from 31 down to our youngest, David, who is 25. Born roughly two years apart, watching them grow from energetic kids into healthy adults remains the great privilege of our lives. Recently, David got eng
Jeff Hulett
8 hours ago5 min read
The Boundaries of Power: What Economic History Teaches Us About the Proper Role of Government
Every generation faces a core question of political economy: What is the proper role of government? Historically, the debate waxes and wanes between expanded state intervention and restrained governance. Modern practice reveals a steady expansion of state power. Effective government does not represent a luxury; it represents a foundational necessity. As Adam Smith and classic commentators made clear, market societies require a government enforcing justice to function properly
Jeff Hulett
Aug 118 min read
The Classical Liberal’s Dilemma: Why Freedom Fails at the Ballot Box
When the Classical Liberal Revival Feels Real The impulse to dismantle the administrative state is a recurring rhythm in the history of governance, a perennial tension between the expanding reach of the bureaucracy and the enduring ideals of classical liberalism. While the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) stands as a recent historical attempt to prune the thicket of executive overreach, it follows a storied lineage of efforts to restore institutional accountability.
Jeff Hulett
Aug 98 min read
Mortgage Rates Update: August 6th, 2026
The mortgage market for the week ending August 6, 2026, experienced a slight upward tick as benchmark yields and primary borrowing costs edged higher in parallel. As an experienced economist tracking fixed-income spreads, I view this movement as market stabilization following prior volatility. The 10 Year Treasury Note rate rose by 1 basis point to 4.69 percent, while the 30-year fixed mortgage rate increased by 3 basis points to 6.69 percent. This parallel rise led to a mi
Jeff Hulett
Aug 71 min read
Treasury Rates Update: August 6th, 2026
In my decades of monitoring fixed-income markets, periods of near-total stability often precede significant policy shifts. Following the market rebalancing that coincided with the Federal Reserve's late-July meeting, the Treasury market entered a brief holding pattern this past week. Yields across the entire term structure shifted by no more than two basis points (bp), reflecting a market in collective pause. Investors are largely standing on the sidelines as they await cruci
Jeff Hulett
Aug 71 min read
The Real Math Gap: How Incentives, Testing, and Home Agency Shape Modern Learning
The Misalignment of Modern Math → We teach high school and college mathematics as if our primary economic goal involves training human calculating machines. We spend hundreds of hours drilling students on hand-manipulating polynomials, evaluating complex integrals, and executing rigid algorithms under strict time limits. Yet, outside the classroom, almost no one calculates by hand. The modern economy does not need human calculators; it needs math orchestrators. An orchestrato
Jeff Hulett
Aug 76 min read
Treasury Rates Update: July 30th, 2026
In my years analyzing fixed-income markets, post-Federal Reserve decision days offer an instructive view of market recalibration. Following the Fed's July 29th meeting, the Treasury market pivoted toward a classic "bear steepener" dynamic. Yields retreated significantly across short and intermediate maturities while long-term rates held firm, indicating investors are pricing in near-term policy easing alongside persistent long-run fiscal and growth considerations. The bench
Jeff Hulett
Jul 311 min read
Mortgage Rates Update: July 30th, 2026
The mortgage market for the week ending July 30, 2026, demonstrated a notable widening in risk premiums as consumer rates moved upward despite a pullback in underlying benchmark yields. As an experienced economist who closely tracks market spreads, I see this divergence as a clear signal that primary lenders are re-establishing their margin buffers. While the 10 Year Treasury Note rate dropped 3 basis points to 4.68 percent, the 30-year fixed mortgage rate moved in the opposi
Jeff Hulett
Jul 311 min read
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