About
Hi there!
I call this blog “Merely curious”, because I am extremely curious. Very often when I look into something, curiosity is my main driver. As a result, the blog does not have any main topic, but instead I write about whatever interests me at the moment. Apart from that I live in Munich and work in software.
New posts are posted on Tuesdays and weekends.
So far my the most popular post is “Interactive Brokers commissions: fixed vs tiered”.
If you want to reach me (e.g. feedback, questions, suggestions, ideas) - twitter, reddit, email - merelycurious protonmail.com. If you are unsure whether you should write to me, please use “The worst that can happen” principle (post). These days I don’t get that much feedback (I am going forward pretty blindly with the blog), so I will (with high probability) enjoy your feedback.
Some of my posts by categories:
Course reviews
- Fundamentals of music: week 3
- Fundamentals of music: week 2
- Fundamentals of music: week 1
- Summary of weeks 1&2 of Coursera Songwriting
- "Human Behavioral Biology" - course summary (lecture 18)
- "Human Behavioral Biology" - course summary (lecture 17)
- "Human Behavioral Biology" - course summary (lecture 16)
- "Human Behavioral Biology" - course summary (lecture 15)
- "Human Behavioral Biology" - course summary (lecture 14)
- "Human Behavioral Biology" - course summary (lecture 13)
- "Human Behavioral Biology" - course summary (lecture 12) - Endocrinology
- "Human Behavioral Biology" - course summary (lecture 11) - Neuroscience
- "Human Behavioral Biology" - course summary (lecture 10) - Neuroscience
- "Human Behavioral Biology" - course summary (lecture 9) - Ethology
- "Human Behavioral Biology" - course summary (lecture 8)
- "Human Behavioral Biology" - course summary (lecture 7)
- "Human Behavioral Biology" - course summary (lecture 6)
- "The science of wellbeing" - brief summary
- "Human Behavioral Biology" - course summary (lectures 4-5)
- "The science of wellbeing" - my impression and summary
- "Human Behavioral Biology" - course summary (lectures 1-3)
- "Learning how to learn" - my impression and conclusions
Financial Independence / Early Retirement
- Should you tell others about FIRE?
- Consumerism would be rational if FIRE did not exist
- Dangers of "Work hard, play hard"
- Physics, acceleration and FIRE\(^2\)
- Health insurance during FIRE
- Delaying capital gains taxes during saving for FIRE phase
- FIRE is a marathon, not a sprint
- "My time costs X" fallacy
Frugality
- Dangers of "Work hard, play hard"
- Capitalism wants you to be weak
- What are you actually paying for?
- German supermarket discounts for fun and profit
- Crazy pistachio
- Frugal travel or how much does FIWE 2019 cost
- "My time costs X" fallacy
Investing
- Unexpected lesson from checking portfolio in crisis
- Timing 2008: what was the prize?
- How much Europe is there in the World ETF?
- Account fee on Flatex ⇒ Flatex alternatives
- Diversifying over ETF providers
- How to buy ETFs at Flatex
- Delaying capital gains taxes during saving for FIRE phase
- 801€ tax free capital gains each year in Germany
- Interactive Brokers monthly fee
- The luckiest investor or what if you knew the future?
- Overview of brokers in Germany
- Do you underestimate Total Expense Ratio effect when investing?
- Interactive Brokers commissions: fixed vs tiered
- Buying ETFs on Interactive Brokers (from Germany)
Thought experiments
- Thought experiment #9: brave new world with all needs met
- Thought experiment #8: jobs in 2030
- Thought experiment #7: true happiness
- Thought experiment #6 overview: unpopular opinions
- Thought experiment 6: unpopular opinions
- Thought experiment overview: projects when FIRE'd
- Thought experiment: projects after FIRE'd
- Thought experiment: losing everything
Germany
- MVV 2020 reform overview
- Health insurance during FIRE
- Delaying capital gains taxes during saving for FIRE phase
- 801€ tax free capital gains each year in Germany
- German supermarket discounts for fun and profit
- Overview of brokers in Germany
Books review
- Book "Too Soon Old, Too Late Smart" - review and summary
- Book "The Dip" - review and summary
- Book "Purple cow" - review and summary
- Book "Search Inside Yourself" - review and summary
- "So Good They Can't Ignore You" - impression and summary
About me
- Overview of this blog's life in 2019 and plans for 2020
- Thought experiment #9: brave new world with all needs met
- Thought experiment #8: jobs in 2030
- Thought experiment #7: true happiness
- How I write this blog
- Thought experiment 6: unpopular opinions
- Thought experiment: projects after FIRE'd
Jekyll
Motivation
Productivity
Simulations
- Health insurance during FIRE
- Delaying capital gains taxes during saving for FIRE phase
- 801€ tax free capital gains each year in Germany
- The luckiest investor or what if you knew the future?
Improvisational theatre
- Stagnation in impro
- Kids and impro
- Negative reactions during impro
- Impro games for non-impro group
- Beauty of impro
- Impro games for two
How-to
Book reviews
Meta
Misc
- How much Europe is there in the World ETF?
- Canceling Amazon Prime
- All (my) advice is awful!
- How technology affects our lives - a story about a delayed sms
- Revisit what you are bad at
- No one promised you anything in life
- Future proofness