Noise: A Flaw in Human Judgment

by Daniel Kahneman

Speaking of Dignity “People value and even need face-to-face interactions. They want a real human being to listen to their concerns and complaints and to have the power to make things better. Sure, those interactions will inevitably produce noise. But human dignity is priceless.” “Moral values are constantly evolving. If we lock everything down, we won’t make space for changing values. Some efforts to reduce noise are just too rigid; they would prevent moral change.” “If you want to deter misconduct, you should tolerate some noise. If students are left wondering about the penalty for plagiarism, great—they will avoid plagiarizing. A little uncertainty in the form of noise can magnify deterrence.” “If we eliminate noise, we might end up with clear rules, which wrongdoers will find ways to avoid. Noise can be a price worth paying if it is a way of preventing strategic or opportunistic behavior.” “Creative people need space. People aren’t robots. Whatever your job, you deserve some room to maneuver. If you’re hemmed in, you might not be noisy, but you won’t have much fun and you won’t be able to bring your original ideas to bear.” “In the end, most of the efforts to defend noise aren’t convincing. We can respect people’s dignity, make plenty of space for moral evolution, and allow for human creativity without tolerating the unfairness and cost of noise.”