top of page
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.
Join our team - become a TCV contributor!
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!
Like what you see? Please join our BEST DECISIONS newsletter!
Featured Posts
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
Our Trade-off Life: How the 80/20 rule leads to a healthier, wealthier life
Trade-offs are the currency of decision-making. The French philosopher Voltaire (1694-1778) spoke of trade-offs when he said [i]: "Perfect is the enemy of good." We always make trade-offs; sometimes those trade-offs are more obvious and sometimes almost invisible. In the modern decision-making context, decisions are the optimization of multiple "what is important to me or us" criteria. The "best" decision is the alternative that optimizes the weighted criteria. [ii] Rarely
The Calculus of Sovereignty: Rebuilding Math Education for Modern Consumer Defense
This article questions modern math education. Not whether math is important, because it is incredibly important. The question is: "Which?" or "What kind?" of math education is most important for success in the hyper-data-abundant, attention-scarce world of the modern Information Age? The article explores the tension between the kind of math education desired by University faculty and the math education most useful for the vast majority of high school students. A University
The Epistemology of Seeing
In our data-abundant era, we treat data as the primary engine for optimization. Organizations invest billions of dollars in automated analytics, machine learning, and artificial intelligence. These investments rest on a compelling premise: a large dataset combined with a powerful spotlight allows leaders to manage operational or financial problems systematically. We treat historical frequencies as a reliable compass for future events. In this new AI age, the massive datasets
Never Miss a New Post.
What goes into changing our minds?
Search
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
Bill Knudson
1 hour ago1 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
Bill Knudson
1 hour ago1 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
5 hours ago6 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
Bill Knudson
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
Bill Knudson
Jul 311 min read
Our Trade-off Life: How the 80/20 rule leads to a healthier, wealthier life
Trade-offs are the currency of decision-making. The French philosopher Voltaire (1694-1778) spoke of trade-offs when he said [i]: "Perfect is the enemy of good." We always make trade-offs; sometimes those trade-offs are more obvious and sometimes almost invisible. In the modern decision-making context, decisions are the optimization of multiple "what is important to me or us" criteria. The "best" decision is the alternative that optimizes the weighted criteria. [ii] Rarely
Jeff Hulett
Jul 2839 min read
Treasury Rates Update: July 23rd, 2026
In my decades of monitoring fixed-income markets, sharp selloffs ahead of a Federal Reserve decision usually indicate a dramatic shift in market conviction. Despite the July 14th CPI print showing encouraging disinflation from 4.2% down to 3.5%, the Treasury market spent this past week aggressively pushing yields higher across every maturity. Investors are rapidly recalibrating expectations as pre-meeting positioning takes hold. The benchmark 10-year Treasury rate surged 14
Bill Knudson
Jul 241 min read
Mortgage Rates Update: July 23rd, 2026
The mortgage market for the week ending July 23, 2026, demonstrated notable margin compression as underlying Treasury yields surged much faster than retail consumer borrowing costs. As an experienced economist who monitors risk spreads, I view this week's trend as a clear sign that primary lenders are absorbing yield pressures rather than fully passing them along to homebuyers. While the 10 Year Treasury Note rate jumped by 14 basis points to 4.71 percent, the 30-year fixed m
Bill Knudson
Jul 241 min read
bottom of page