Daniel Kahneman, Olivier Sibony, and Cass R. Sunstein distinguish between bias, which is a consistent directional error, and noise, which is unwanted variability in professional judgment. The authors demonstrate how identical cases—ranging from criminal sentencing and medical diagnoses to insurance underwriting—often receive wildly different outcomes depending on the specific person making the decision or even the time of day. They analyze two main types: system noise, where individuals within an organization disagree, and occasion noise, where the same person fluctuates in their own assessment based on external factors.
This book is for managers, policy makers, and legal professionals who oversee high-stakes evaluation systems. Readers gain practical tools for "decision hygiene," a set of protocols designed to reduce inconsistency without identifying the specific source of error. By implementing these structured frameworks, such as the use of independent assessments and the aggregation of multiple opinions, professionals can increase the reliability of their organizational outputs. Users walk away with a technical understanding of how to audit internal variability and standardize human judgment processes.
Outward-looking; a moderate read.
Best for readers like The Evidence Seeker. Which reader are you?
- Published
- 2021
- Language
- EN
