Not A Fan of Nudging

I was on my favorite sum total of all human knowledge search engine this morning looking for a passage in an article that I expressly remember reading. The problem is, I don't remember when I read the passage nor do I remember the author of the article or even where I found the passage. The only thing I do remember is that it's a good passage.

Anyway, in my futility, I came across this short interview with Tyler Cowen. This part is a gem:

FE: Do you have a morning news and blog reading routine? Could you describe it for us?

Mr Cowen: I get up at 7 a.m. or so and I read The Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, New York Times, and Financial Times, with breakfast somewhere in the middle of those. Atonal music or Indian classical music are the preferred soundtracks, at least if my wife is leaving for work. I've just started using an RSS reader, although I don't like how it oppressively "nudges" me into reading everything in it [emphasis mine].

There you have it. If Tyler Cowen says nudging is oppressive, then I say nudging is oppressive!