The Brooklyn Rail

Nudging toward Bethlehem

A little over a year ago, I attended a virtual conference called the “Nudges in Health Care Symposium.” For the uninitiated, the term “nudging” refers to the practice, via various mechanisms, of deliberately altering an individual’s choices, structuring her so-called “choice architecture” without her awareness. In doing so, it is intended as a way to allow individuals to make decisions that benefit them that they otherwise might not have made.