Noise

About “Noise”

Daniel Kahneman, Olivier Sibony, and Cass R. Sunstein explore the impact of noise—unwanted variability in judgment—in their book Noise. They present examples such as doctors giving different diagnoses to identical patients, judges issuing different sentences for the same crime, and interviewers making different decisions about similar job candidates. These variations occur even when the same person makes different decisions at different times. The authors show that noise affects many areas, including medicine, law, and business. Most people and organizations are unaware of this problem. The book offers simple solutions to reduce noise and bias, leading to better decision-making. Drawing on research, the authors explain why humans are prone to noise and how to address it.