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Noise: A Flaw in Human Judgment

  Noise: A Flaw in Human Judgment By:    Daniel Kahneman, Olivier Sibony, and Cass R. Sunstein Reviewed by   Geoffrey W. Sutton   We are constantly exposed to opinions. Some of those opinions are judgments. And some of those judgments affect our opportunities to work, obtain healthcare, receive fair treatment by government entities, and earn fair evaluations in school. Some people are paid to make informed judgments. Unfortunately, some judgments are noisy—they vary. Noise is about the differences in judgments that affect our lives. When the authors provide examples of variation in judgments, they are writing about variability in a statistical sense. As a retired professor who taught research and statistics to undergraduate and graduate students, I’m not sure the authors were entirely clear—at least not clear enough for readers who are either new to the concept or haven’t drawn on their statistics knowledge for some years. In any event, I think the book deserves a look be

My Body is Not a Prayer Request - a review

  Disability Justice in the Church By  Amy Kenny in 2022 Reviewed by Geoffrey W. Sutton   Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. (James 5: 14-15a, NIV)   “God told me to pray for you.” Amy begins her challenge to Christians who dehumanize her, and all people with disabilities, by telling the tale of a prayer predator. She interrupts the woman’s plan, “I don’t need prayer for healing. My body has already been sanctified and redeemed.” Amy uses a cane and a wheelchair. Throughout My Body is Not a Prayer Request , we learn what Christians and medical people have said and done, which have had a cumulative effect of dehumanizing Amy. She has encountered many Christians who do not accept her as she is. Her work is an attack on the mentality of ableism . [ Read about ableism ] Part of