I am a doctoral researcher in the Department of Statistics and Econometrics at UNWE, currently writing a dissertation on measuring the economic contribution of the music industry across Bulgaria, China, the United States, South Korea, and the United Kingdom. In short - I spend a lot of time thinking about data, models, and what numbers can and cannot tell us about the world.

But I also spend time thinking about fashion shows, recipes, films, and books. The Outlier exists because I could not find a place that took all of those things seriously at the same time. So I built one.

The Outlier is an independent publication. No advertisers, no sponsored content, no brand deals. Everything published here is written because it is worth writing - not because someone paid to have it appear.

The name is deliberate. In statistics, an outlier is the data point that does not follow the pattern - the observation that breaks the model and forces you to ask better questions. That is what this is trying to do, across eight very different topics.

Some articles will be rigorous and analytical. Some will be personal. Some will be neither and both. The thread connecting them is a genuine point of view - which is, I think, the only thing worth reading for.

The Outlier publishes guest work. If you have something to say - an argument, an angle, a piece of expertise you want to put into writing - pitch it. I read every pitch, respond to every pitch, and edit every piece that gets commissioned. Your byline, your voice, my platform.

The bar is high. The door is open. Read the full guidelines at the Submission Desk.

For pitches, use the Submission Desk form. For everything else - questions, feedback, corrections, or just to say hello - write to hristo@theoutlier.ink. I read everything and try to reply to most of it.