Nonsense: The Power of Not Knowing

Jamie Holmes 'Nonsense: The Power of Not Knowing" disappointed me, given the other reviews I had seen and the general buzz that this book has seemed to generate.First of all, Holmes does not provide his own account of how to deal with ambiguity. Rather, the book is a collection of stories ranging from the MotoGP to the fashion industry to the Yom Kippur war in which different individuals face ambiguity and respond to it in either (stereotypical) bad or good ways. Holmes does well in making explicit the lessons we are supposed to draw from each story. However, what would have been most interesting - the particular arguments in favour of each conclusion on the basis of each story - is entirely absent.Second, given the generality of the lessons that Holmes wants to teach us and the claims he wants us to consider or accept, many of the stories are redundant. Yes, they serve the purpose of illustrating each lesson. But, strictly speaking, they are not necessary. A good example is the following. Holmes alludes to the interesting (philosophical) difference between 'risk' and 'ambiguity'. In the former, we can assign probabilities to the different possible outcomes of our action/an event, whereas in the latter we don't even have sufficient information to assign probabilities. However, after having presented the distinction, Holmes doesn't do anything with it. That is a real shame given that normative uncertainty (and acting under it) is currently a hot topic in decision-theory.Most helpful in Holmes' book I found his inclusion of Arne Roets and Alain van Hiel their version of the need-for-closure scale. By answering fifteen questions, scoring each question between 1-6, you can come to a total score that will inform you about your own need for closure. In my view, this should have formed the starting point for the book, after which Holmes could have discussed different strategies of lowering your scores on this, when and why closure might be a virtue, etc. But this is not the case. A missed opportunity, in my view.

This is an increasingly important area, as evidence-based policy and the testing culture of many education systems focus on the value of knowing. Holmes misses out clear identification of the reasons why knowing has become such a strong driver, and why not knowing is more relevant than ever - not least because of the 'VUCA' (volatile, uncertain, complex & ambiguous) world around us. Whilst there are many interesting anecdotes and examples of academic research, the author fails to connect their relevance to his central theme.

Good txn

Amazing! Totally recommend.

Very mind provoking, but a bit rambling at times. However the answer to one of the problems posed would only be correct in a US context as our plugs will not fit. Read the book and you will understand what I mean!