Ask HN: Need help thinking of a term I just read about here

1 points by jayceekay 5 years ago | 2 comments

I'm trying to remember what a specific term is called that I've seen in blog posts around here. Probably not specific to SWE, but it's when two options are, for all intents and purposes, equal, but there is a "soft" motivation/influence factor on behavior of others.

I'm not sure if my example is any good because I'm not even sure if I'm thinking of the right idea. But for example, as a team we have the option of adding code into a codebase that we plan on freezing and phasing out, vs. spinning up its replacement now. Spinning up a new codebase, while it has an upfront cost, will nudge people to write more modern code, test more (assuming the scaffolding is put in place), etc. Sorry that this is super vague.

sigmaprimus 5 years ago |

Does it have to be one of two choices or can there be multiple choices?

Off the top of my head I would say what You are talking about is "Persuasion" there are synonyms for that term such as "Coaxing" or the one You already used in your question "Nudging".

Magicians practice the subtle art of "Misdirection" and there was that Leonardo DiCaprio movie Inception, maybe the term you're seeking was used in it.

My personal favorite would be "Propaganda" or "Propagandization" which has been defined as the "deliberate, systematic attempt to shape perceptions, manipulate cognitions, and direct behavior to achieve a response that furthers the desired intent of the propagandist"

All of these terms should fall under the umbrella term of "Social Engineering" but sadly that term has had its meaning conscripted into a hacking technique as far as modern search engines are concerned.

I'm sure there are other words, I hope You find the one you're looking for, I know how it feels when You can't find the words You know, You knew!

Good luck

sigmaprimus 5 years ago | |

Edit: Another one being used in Political News recently is "Inciting" and while generally defined as a negative term it simply means "To induce activity, of whatever kind", you can incite violence or a riot but also incite good behavior through "Encouraging" it.