About
I am a physician and behavioral scientist. My research and writing explores the quirks in human nature that influence our lives — the mixture of rational and irrational forces that affect our health, our happiness and the way our society functions. (What fun would it be to tackle just the easy problems?) My goal is to show you, in an entertaining way, why the key to living better, healthier lives, and improving the societies we live in, is to understand human nature.
I’m also a Professor of Marketing and Public Policy at Duke University. My research explores controversial issues about the role of values and preferences in health care decision making, from decisions at the bedside to policy decisions. I use the tools of decision psychology and behavioral economics to explore topics like informed consent, shared decision making and health care rationing.
In my spare time, I enjoy classical piano, sports, chili peppers, and playing sports with my 2 young boys. At the dinner table, my wife, my kids and I can be counted on to be playing cards most nights. We play Yuker as homage to our time in Michigan. Hearts, because that’s always fun. And less familiar games like President and 29. But most of all, we love bridge, the greatest card game ever invented. (with apologies to poker fans—that’s a great game too, but I stink at it so much I couldn’t put it in the number 1 spot—and to my wife Paula, who as much as she likes bridge, hates playing in no trump!)
Oh yeah: and basketball is my favorite sport to coach. But I could never do it for a living: as my wife Paula will confirm, it gets me too worked up-strategizing, planning the next practice, figuring out how to maximize my players’ potential . . . !!
I’m too slow to keep up with these guys now, but I can still snag the occasional rebound!
Not looking my best…but here is a blog post I wrote for the Hastings Center, in which I try to get to the root, so to speak, of an often overlooked issue: cutting dental coverage when trying to lower the cost of health care.
I love outdoor adventures. Here I am with my son Jordan, on my left, and the Symmonds family (a great clan we met that day) as we embark on a 4 hour hike in the Belizean cave looming behind us. Bat guano, waterfalls, stalagmites that looked like male reproductive organs, …the hike had a little bit of everything. Except natural light, of course.
