Thesis

Thana Applied Economics applies domain expertise and optimization analysis to the allocation of time, effort, and resources, producing quantifiable gains in longevity and endurance performance. The firm's economic approach was developed at the University of Chicago and designed to be an application of the Chicago School of Economics.

Most people believe that “more is better” improves aggregate health and performance (more steps, more healthy foods, higher training volume). We wholly reject this approach in favor of optimizing within already-existing lifestyle constraints. We audit your current lifestyle and identify where effort can be most productively reallocated.

During my last quarter at Chicago, I discussed this thesis with an economics professor and Nobel laureate, who noted: “I like the idea of featuring tradeoffs given constraints on time.”

Standing Offerings

1) TAE Monthly Insight - $25 per month, subscribe here. One monthly insight applying the TAE framework to endurance performance or longevity.

2) Endurance Advisory - Contact for waitlist. Review our process and observed results here.

3) Longevity Advisory - Contact for waitlist. Review our process and observed results here.

Milestones of Applied Economics

A review of important moments in the history of optimization, tradeoff, and risk analysis.

1892. The University of Chicago is founded, establishing the intellectual tradition that would become the Chicago School of Economics.

1920s. Frank Knight develops the distinction between risk and uncertainty which provided a foundation for rational decision-making under incomplete information.

1946. Milton Friedman joins the Chicago faculty and begins to emphasize rigorous empirical economics and individual rational choice theory.

1952. Harry Markowitz develops Modern Portfolio Theory, establishing that diversified allocation across assets reduces risk without sacrificing return. We view lifestyle as a portfolio.

1957. Friedman's permanent income hypothesis establishes that rational agents allocate resources based on long-term expectations rather than short-term fluctuations.

1960. Ronald Coase publishes The Problem of Social Cost, formalizing tradeoff analysis as a tool for evaluating competing resource allocations.

1964. Gary Becker introduces human capital theory, establishing that investments in health, education, and the body follow the same rational economic logic as financial investments. William Sharpe develops the Capital Asset Pricing Model, formalizing the relationship between risk, return, and optimal resource allocation.

1976. Becker's The Economic Approach to Human Behavior extends economic analysis to all human decisions, including health, time allocation, and lifestyle.

2013. Lars Peter Hansen receives the Nobel Prize for, among other things, the Generalized Method of Moments, providing rigorous tools for analyzing economic tradeoffs under uncertainty and incomplete information.