Cass Sunstein

“Group polarization is a phenomenon whereby the decisions and opinions of people in a group setting become more extreme than their actual, privately held beliefs.”

“A nudge, as we will use the term, is any aspect of the choice architecture that alters people's behavior in a predictable way without forbidding any options or significantly changing their economic incentives.”

“People are 'predictably irrational'.”

“A deliberating group is likely to end up with a more extreme position than the one it started with.”

“The internet can be a powerful tool for good, but it can also be a breeding ground for extremism and misinformation.”

“The central idea of nudge is that people's choices are pervasively influenced by the 'choice architecture' in which they are made.”

“Libertarian paternalism is a relatively weak, soft, and nonintrusive type of paternalism because choices are not blocked, fenced off, or significantly burdened.”

“Cost-benefit analysis is a useful tool for making policy decisions, but it is not the only tool.”

“The problem is that the 'architecture of our lives' is not always designed to make things easy for us.”

“If you want to get people to do something, make it easy.”

“We want to promote freedom of choice, but we also want to help people make better choices.”

“Humans are not always rational actors. We are often influenced by biases and heuristics.”

“Echo chambers and filter bubbles can lead to a society that is more divided and less able to engage in productive disagreement.”

“Freedom of speech is not an absolute. It can be limited to prevent harm to others.”

“For a democracy to flourish, it requires a well-informed citizenry.”

“The best way to show that a free market can be distorted is to sing a song about the way in which it is distorted.”