A Book on Judging and Being Judged
Publisher:BioBitField
Contact: stella.swiss@biobitfield.com
Publication Year: 2011
ISBN-10: 0982956908
ISBN-13: 978-0982956908
Book Format: 8.5 x 5.5 inches, 108 pages, paperback
Brief Desription
Humans tend to judge each other, often spontaneously and effortlessly, but also formally and deliberately. The author argues that this process of peer evaluation, or peer review, developed as a result of natural selection and offers adaptive benefits to individuals and communities. However, the peer review process is also stochastic, is based on assumptions, and relies on surrogate measures of success. As a result, particular instances of peer review may be non-adaptive or maladaptive. Another limitation of peer review is that it is useless in the face of novelty. Although peer review, in a broad sense, is critical to the success of human societies, the meaning of peer review is often overly simplified and misunderstood, its results overvalued, and its outcomes misinterpreted – causing much turmoil and frustration. The individuals who participate in a peer review process, especially those rejected by peers, as well as organizations that utilize peer review for decision making, will benefit from the insights proposed in this book.
Abstract
The author considers the ubiquitous tendency of humans, as well as animals of numerous species, to evaluate each other and to adjust their behaviors toward each other based on such evaluations. This process is termed "peer evaluation," or "peer review". It is noted that peer review, overall, is an adaptive process, and the adaptive benefits of peer review are analyzed. It is argued that in animals, peer review activities, such as sexual selection of mates or establishing the rank order in social groups, developed through natural selection and themselves became selective mechanisms. Humans perform peer review, not only unconsciously, but also consciously; they sophisticated it into an important social and business tool. It is discussed that, despite its overall directionality, the peer review process is also stochastic in nature. It acts on the assumption of stability or gradual directional change of the environment and, using surrogate measures for past successes, facilitates the enhancement of traits that are likely to increase adaptation to that environment. It is demonstrated that, while peer review is, overall, an adaptive strategy, particular instances of peer review may be non-adaptive or maladaptive because of its stochasticity and assumption-based, surrogate measure-driven decision making. Furthermore, peer review is helpless in the face of the novelty of the future, which stems from unpredictable changes in the environment. It is also incapable of rapid recognition of novel adaptive strategies. Therefore, the peer review process, which increases adaptation to a stable or a gradually directionally changing environment, is in conflict with innovation. Peer review, in a broad sense, is critical to the success of human societies. Yet in particular instances, the meaning of peer review is overly simplified and misunderstood, its results overvalued, and its outcomes misinterpreted, causing much turmoil and frustration. The insight proposed in this book may be personally and professionally helpful for individuals who participate in a peer review process, as well as to organizations that utilize peer review for decision making.