Quills and Nudges The British Civil Service is not a body known for radical change; it’s never quite got over having to give up the quill pen and tends to view with suspicion newfangled ideas like computers and women in the workplace. Despite this it’s currently at the heart of a large scale experiment on the use of techniques from behavioral science, aka, “nudge” theory. Sitting at the center of UK government is the Behavioural Insights Team (BIT), which is tasked with using behavioral approaches “as an alternative or complement to regulation or bans”, while achieving a ten-fold return on the cost of the team. They’ve just released the results of their first set of trials on fraud, error and debt, and these suggest they’re likely to continue, as the potential savings look like they’ll be quite significant. Wherever you are, you can expect to be nudged, prodded and cajoled into being a better person; or at least one that pays their taxes and turns up to doctors' appointments on...