Nudge

This book introduced the concept of nudging into the public discourse, and I guess all of us have encountered it one way or the other. How many reminders have I gotten to sign up for this or that program?… Alas, I love Thaler and Sunstein's concept of choice architects. It made me think about power as a capacity to affect not only people but also the very framework in which people make decisions.

Don't worry, this is not a conspiracy book. This is an optimistic book about the ways we can help people make better choices by designing the system around them better—preventing car crashes, promoting better nutrition, and even increasing the pool of organ donors. It is a fascinating read about small changes around us that can create big differences.

Thaler (2017 Economy Nobel recipient) was a student of Kahneman. 15 years after his teacher he also received the Nobel prize. In this book about improving decisions about health, wealth, and happiness Thaler presents how to shape choices using the newly discovered laws of irrationality, or choice shaping. Although not as complete and detailed as Thinking fast and slow, the book is a lot easier to read. Similar to Stephen Hawkins who wrote A Brief History Of Time without a single equation, this is the book for people who want an introduction to the subject… without the headaches!

Nudge is a seminal work about using psychological insights to help people make better economic decisions for themselves. The principles which authors Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein articulate in the book are being applied globally in what have come to be called “behavioral insight teams” or “nudge units.” I would call this book a “game changer,” because prior to its publication there was a general view that people are too set in their psychological ways to change their behavior, even when doing so would be to their benefit. The germ of the main ideas in Nudge trace back to work… show more.