Author posts
Should You Be Able to Sue the Government That Nudged You?
"Nudge" policies are spreading across the globe because they supposedly offer a less expensive and more effective way to get people to make the "right" decisions. In the original formulation, such decisions are defined as those that people would like to have made, had they not been hobbled and blinkered at the time by irresistible irrationality.
September 29, 2014
If You Don't Want Others Spying On You, Don't Spy On Yourself
Pondering the worrisome prospect that all your quantified self data might not be private.
July 05, 2013
The NRA, Which Blames Shooting Games for Gun Violence, Has Just Released a Shooting Game
The game is an example of a hot trend: The gamification of many aspects of life that used to be addressed by lectures, pamphlets, informational videos and the like.
January 14, 2013
Why You'll Always Think Your Big Changes Are Behind You
Why can we face up to our inconsistencies in the past but not expect more in the future?
January 06, 2013
Big Idea: Statistics About Groups Tell You Nothing About Individuals
Data-mongering is how Americans try to explain or control someone's actions. And yet, statistics about people in general, or about some category of people, tell you nothing certain about any one individual.
December 22, 2012
Lack of Willpower? Nope, Just a Realistic View of the World
Sometimes the urge for instant gratification makes perfect sense.
October 26, 2012
Is Capitalism To Blame for Worldwide Obesity?
We may think we're free to choose what to eat and how to eat it, but food companies maximize their profits by restricting our choices
March 25, 2012
David Berreby
David Berreby is the author of "Us and Them: The Science of Identity." He has written about human behavior and other science topics for The New Yorker, The New York Times Magazine, Slate, Smithsonian, The New Republic, Nature, Discover, Vogue and many other publications. He has been a Visiting Scholar at the University of Paris, a Science Writing Fellow at the Marine Biological Laboratory, a resident at Yaddo, and in 2006 was awarded the Erving Goffman Award for Outstanding Scholarship for the first edition of "Us and Them." David can be found on Twitter at @davidberreby and reached by email at david [at] davidberreby [dot] com.
