Last Updated on June 10, 2021
I just finished reading Kahneman’s latest book, Noise. Those of you that know me well know that I am a Kahneman junkie, I think his writing have affected me more than any other. Taleb and Spinoza and Seneca are a close second. I wrote more about World View Altering books here, and reading in general here.
What is noise in judgement?
Imagine that two doctors in the same city give different diagnoses to identical patients—or that two judges in the same courthouse give markedly different sentences to people who have committed the same crime. Suppose that different interviewers at the same firm make different decisions about indistinguishable job applicants—or that when a company is handling customer complaints, the resolution depends on who happens to answer the phone. Now imagine that the same doctor, the same judge, the same interviewer, or the same customer service agent makes different decisions depending on whether it is morning or afternoon, or Monday rather than Wednesday. These are examples of noise: variability in judgments that should be identical.
Noise
Read Noise
Of course I think the book is amazing, but yes I have to say I’m biased and my judgement could be noisy. I found it to be a bit long winded in parts but its message is profound.
Also if this topic interests you, check out this post I wrote this about decision making with references to the impact of noise: A Guide to Smarter Decision Making for Startup Leaders.