Stanley O'Shea (Author of The Snowy Battlefield of Ohio)

Stanley O'Shea rated a book really liked it Noise: A Flaw in Human Judgment by Daniel Kahneman	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
I read Noise chapter by chapter, section by section, on and before train rides over the course of a year. I was getting rounds of treatment for chronic dry eye syndrome, and reading a paperback in short sessions was how I assessed my progress during ...more
Apr 21, 2026 02:35AM · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Noise by Daniel Kahneman. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Noise by Daniel Kahneman <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Stanley O'Shea and 481 other people liked Rick Wilson's review of Noise: A Flaw in Human Judgment: "You know what the real lesson here is, don’t pre-order books based on the authors reputation alone. In a world filled with noise, these authors contribute to it through their generally inadequate book. I really wanted to like this. I liked Nudge whic" Read more of this review »
Apr 21, 2026 02:31AM · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Noise by Daniel Kahneman. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Noise by Daniel Kahneman <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Stanley O'Shea rated a book really liked it Noise: A Flaw in Human Judgment by Daniel Kahneman	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
I read Noise chapter by chapter, section by section, on and before train rides over the course of a year. I was getting rounds of treatment for chronic dry eye syndrome, and reading a paperback in short sessions was how I assessed my progress during ...more
Apr 21, 2026 12:24AM · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Noise by Daniel Kahneman. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Noise by Daniel Kahneman <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Stanley O'Shea is now following Ty Stokes's reviews
Apr 21, 2026 12:22AM · like
Stanley O'Shea made a comment on Hong Phuc’s review of The Snowy Battlefield of Ohio: A Memoir " Thank you for your feedback! It helps me improve in my future projects. "
May 23, 2025 08:17PM · see review
Stanley O'Shea liked Hong Phuc's review of The Snowy Battlefield of Ohio: A Memoir: "The style here reminds me of The Catcher in the Rye; but I find that the story told here is much more compelling than the one told in that classic, with its many insightful observations about human nature as well as psychological and cultural differe" Read more of this review »
May 23, 2025 08:16PM · see review
Stanley O'Shea is currently reading Noise: A Flaw in Human Judgment by Daniel Kahneman	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
May 18, 2025 05:15AM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Noise by Daniel Kahneman. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Noise by Daniel Kahneman <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Stanley O'Shea rated a book it was amazing Revenge of the Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
I once read the paperback version of the original The Tipping Point. This time I tried the audiobook version for this new book (in order to learn audio production, hehe). The audio production was mind-blowing for a nonfiction audiobook. His narration ...more
May 18, 2025 04:46AM · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Revenge of the Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Revenge of the Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Stanley O'Shea made a comment on Rachael’s review of The Snowy Battlefield of Ohio: A Memoir " I'm glad you fully experienced this journey with me! And yes, I do believe in the practical value of my book. ...more "
Apr 06, 2025 07:44PM · see review

Stanley O'Shea rated a book really liked it

Noise: A Flaw in Human Judgment
by Daniel Kahneman

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1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

I read Noise chapter by chapter, section by section, on and before train rides over the course of a year. I was getting rounds of treatment for chronic dry eye syndrome, and reading a paperback in short sessions was how I assessed my progress during I read Noise chapter by chapter, section by section, on and before train rides over the course of a year. I was getting rounds of treatment for chronic dry eye syndrome, and reading a paperback in short sessions was how I assessed my progress during the recovery. The book's density demanded that pace anyway. Given their verbal style, I felt like going through grad school again. By the way, I used a pair of scissors to cut it into three parts— what I typically do for thick books (another example was Atlas Shrugged).

By the time I finished, I noticed my thinking had shifted slowly. I consciously refrain from taking any single expert's opinion at face value — not out of distrust, but because the book makes the noisy nature of human judgment impossible to ignore, particularly in healthcare, a field most relevant to me personally, among other fields discussed in this book. Also, think about it: a second opinion, even a second opinion from a diagonal position, may not be sufficient..

I have learned a lot of things that aren’t taught in my field by training, cognitive psychology, such as distinguishing the concept of rules from the concept of standards. Psychology programs are specialized in terms of domain knowledge, and that’s why I care to fill up the blind spots as I age. Books like this are precious, though I wish it could be written in a more digestible way for the general public. I believe the paperback was the best format for me, if you see all the underlines and notes I have around the illustrations.

The book is marketed as a NYT bestseller yet the reading experience is quite different. It’s not the kind of self-help bestseller. Readers without a quantitative background may struggle, while those with formal training in statistics will find the lack of mathematical language a bit frustrating (but that’s the common struggle of psychology as a less-than-hard scientific field: you can’t satisfy both sides). The authors also use "algorithm" loosely, in a way that is inconsistent with its direct meaning in CS. As I first read through the book, I couldn’t help but ask myself whether the authors might be talking about regression models. But not quite. As I later understood, they were talking about calculating methods or something close to that. Anyway, a trained model, rather than the process of training the model.

This brings me to further realization of the unresolved tension here: Dr. Kahneman argues that statistical or AI models should replace noisy human judgment, but those models (including, say, regression models) are trained on human-generated data. You cannot eliminate noise by automating it. It might be harsh to call it cyclic, but it’s like using people to train AI models and then using AI to replace human labor. In my opinion, you constantly need new human data to update the model.

Despite this, Noise is worth reading slowly, with realistic expectations. If you don’t have the time, you can simply jump to the sections you are willing to dig into, but then you may not get much out of it. For readers who have a background in psychology and human science, this book may quietly change how you evaluate judgment. Not dramatically. Those who need I/O psychology in their practice, this book reminds you to hire professionals to do your noise audit.

I acknowledge their contributions to this field. ...more

Stanley O'Shea and 481 other people liked Rick Wilson's review of Noise: A Flaw in Human Judgment:

"You know what the real lesson here is, don’t pre-order books based on the authors reputation alone. In a world filled with noise, these authors contribute to it through their generally inadequate book.

I really wanted to like this. I liked Nudge whic" Read more of this review »

Stanley O'Shea rated a book really liked it

Noise: A Flaw in Human Judgment
by Daniel Kahneman

Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

I read Noise chapter by chapter, section by section, on and before train rides over the course of a year. I was getting rounds of treatment for chronic dry eye syndrome, and reading a paperback in short sessions was how I assessed my progress during I read Noise chapter by chapter, section by section, on and before train rides over the course of a year. I was getting rounds of treatment for chronic dry eye syndrome, and reading a paperback in short sessions was how I assessed my progress during the recovery. The book's density demanded that pace anyway. Given their verbal style, I felt like going through grad school again. By the way, I used a pair of scissors to cut it into three parts— what I typically do for thick books (another example was Atlas Shrugged).

By the time I finished, I noticed my thinking had shifted slowly. I consciously refrain from taking any single expert's opinion at face value — not out of distrust, but because the book makes the noisy nature of human judgment impossible to ignore, particularly in healthcare, a field most relevant to me personally, among other fields discussed in this book. Also, think about it: a second opinion, even a second opinion from a diagonal position, may not be sufficient..

I have learned a lot of things that aren’t taught in my field by training, cognitive psychology, such as distinguishing the concept of rules from the concept of standards. Psychology programs are specialized in terms of domain knowledge, and that’s why I care to fill up the blind spots as I age. Books like this are precious, though I wish it could be written in a more digestible way for the general public. I believe the paperback was the best format for me, if you see all the underlines and notes I have around the illustrations.

The book is marketed as a NYT bestseller yet the reading experience is quite different. It’s not the kind of self-help bestseller. Readers without a quantitative background may struggle, while those with formal training in statistics will find the lack of mathematical language a bit frustrating (but that’s the common struggle of psychology as a less-than-hard scientific field: you can’t satisfy both sides). The authors also use "algorithm" loosely, in a way that is inconsistent with its direct meaning in CS. As I first read through the book, I couldn’t help but ask myself whether the authors might be talking about regression models. But not quite. As I later understood, they were talking about calculating methods or something close to that. Anyway, a trained model, rather than the process of training the model.

This brings me to further realization of the unresolved tension here: Dr. Kahneman argues that statistical or AI models should replace noisy human judgment, but those models (including, say, regression models) are trained on human-generated data. You cannot eliminate noise by automating it. It might be harsh to call it cyclic, but it’s like using people to train AI models and then using AI to replace human labor. In my opinion, you constantly need new human data to update the model.

Despite this, Noise is worth reading slowly, with realistic expectations. If you don’t have the time, you can simply jump to the sections you are willing to dig into, but then you may not get much out of it. For readers who have a background in psychology and human science, this book may quietly change how you evaluate judgment. Not dramatically. Those who need I/O psychology in their practice, this book reminds you to hire professionals to do your noise audit.

I acknowledge their contributions to this field. ...more

Stanley O'Shea is now following Ty Stokes's reviews

Stanley O'Shea made a comment on Hong Phuc’s review of The Snowy Battlefield of Ohio: A Memoir

The Snowy Battlefield of Ohio by Stanley O'Shea

" Thank you for your feedback! It helps me improve in my future projects. "

Stanley O'Shea liked Hong Phuc's review of The Snowy Battlefield of Ohio: A Memoir:

"The style here reminds me of The Catcher in the Rye; but I find that the story told here is much more compelling than the one told in that classic, with its many insightful observations about human nature as well as psychological and cultural differe" Read more of this review »

Stanley O'Shea is currently reading

Noise: A Flaw in Human Judgment
by Daniel Kahneman

Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

Stanley O'Shea rated a book it was amazing

Revenge of the Tipping Point
by Malcolm Gladwell

Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

I once read the paperback version of the original The Tipping Point.
This time I tried the audiobook version for this new book (in order to learn audio production, hehe).
The audio production was mind-blowing for a nonfiction audiobook. His narration ...more

Stanley O'Shea made a comment on Rachael’s review of The Snowy Battlefield of Ohio: A Memoir

" I'm glad you fully experienced this journey with me! And yes, I do believe in the practical value of my book. ...more "

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Preview — Noise by Daniel Kahneman

See a Problem?

Preview — Noise by Daniel Kahneman

See a Problem?

Preview — Revenge of the Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell

Stanley’s Friend Comments

Stanley’s Year In Books

Stanley O'Shea’s Followers (4)

Stanley’s Bookshelves

Stanley’s Friends (1)

Stanley O'Shea

Goodreads Author

Learn moreAsk the Author

Combine EditionsStanley O'Shea’s books

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See a Problem?

Preview — Noise by Daniel Kahneman

See a Problem?

Preview — Noise by Daniel Kahneman

See a Problem?

Preview — Noise by Daniel Kahneman

See a Problem?

Preview — Noise by Daniel Kahneman

See a Problem?

Preview — Revenge of the Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell

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