Synthesized answer
The author provides several examples to illustrate the concept of "noise," which is defined as variability in judgments that should be identical [1]. These examples include:
Two doctors in the same city giving different diagnoses to identical patients; two judges in the same courthouse giving markedly different sentences to people who have committed the same crime; and different interviewers at the same firm making different decisions about indistinguishable job applicants [1]. The author also mentions that the resolution of customer complaints can depend on who answers the phone [1]. Furthermore, the same individual (doctor, judge, interviewer, or customer service agent) can make different decisions depending on the time of day or day of the week [1].
The authors show the detrimental effects of noise in various fields such as medicine, law, economic forecasting, forensic science, bail, child protection, strategy, performance reviews, and personnel selection [2].
Synthesized from the book passages below. Chat with the book on Feynman for follow-up.
From the book
Title: Noise by Daniel Kahneman, Olivier Sibony, Cass R. Sunstein Description: NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER From the Nobel Prize-winning author of Thinking, Fast and Slow and the coauthor of Nudge, a revolutionary exploration of why people make bad judgments and how to make better ones—"a tour de force” (New York Times). 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…
man, Olivier Sibony, and Cass R. Sunstein show the detrimental effects of noise in many fields, including medicine, law, economic forecasting, forensic science, bail, child protection, strategy, performance reviews, and personnel selection. Wherever there is judgment, there is noise. Yet, most of the time, individuals and organizations alike are unaware of it. They neglect noise. With a few simple remedies, people can reduce both noise and bias, and so make far better decisions. Packed with original ideas, and offering the same kinds of research-based insights that made Thinking, Fast and…