Nudge: Improving Decisions about Health, Wealth, and Happiness

I had the pleasure of being in the very first class Richard Thaler ever taught on Behavioral Decision Theory -- the topic that would make his career and would form the foundation for the novel ideas in "Nudge." I've been a junkie on this this topic ever since. It's a delight to see how Thaler has advanced knowledge in this field.

In this era of political polarity in the US, this is a most important book. Thaler presents proposals here that potentially both hard-core conservatives and liberals could both agree would be an improvement over the status quo. These days, that's almost impossible. Every member of Congress should read this book.

The central idea is what Thaler calls "libertarian paternalism." The idea slices through the dichotomy that individuals know best for themselves and that government knows best by establishing systems where individual freedom is not curtailed (a downside of the liberal agenda) but which direct people to better choices (a failure of the conservative agenda).

The ideas presented in Nudge are novel, and they are supported by substantial research in how people make decisions. This research show how mistaken traditional economic theory has been about how people make choices, and how employing a bit of psychology can make outcomes better for all.

The concepts in Nudge have implications beyond government.They apply to business and other areas, too. I sent my company's CFO a copy when he couldn't believe our employee's behavior about our 401k plan. Nudge has a section on how Ph.d. economists make bad 401k decisions. Our employees were the same.

If you're interested in improving how people make decisions, this is a must read.

Well narrated and well explained book about how we make, or are nudged to make certain decisions. If you've never read a book about this topic, this one is good. If you've already read a couple of similar tomes, this one doesn't add anything new.

A lot longer than I wished. The abridged version of the book should be available to customers

The topics are truly complex, but the book is so well organized that any reader can come out the other side of this book understanding much more.

His reading is well-paced; his pronunciation exacting.

We all at times have the power to be choice architects. In a world where we do not always have access to all the information we need when we have to make decisions, it is important that others are careful in designing the conditions in which we make choices and maximize both our liberty while minimizing our hazards.

The notion of libertarian paternalism is interesting, even if impossible to actually implement. Nonetheless, the revelation that decisions can be so widely influenced puts a great deal of responsibility on choice architects - even reluctant ones. You will never look at another salad bar line quite the same.

More anecdote, rather than details on scientific studies, to bring it all to life. The story comes across as rather sterile and clinical.

Perhaps it was the material, but I found him to be painfully slow, even at 2x playback speed.

Never. Perhaps a documentary, but this book is advocacy, not fiction. The authors develop a position for the role of government and even corporations in society. The case studies are generally more scientific than anecdotal in nature.