Richard I. Cook

The Ohio State University | OSU · Department of Integrated Systems Engineering

Beginning with the question "what is human error?" misleads stakeholders into a thicket of difficulties where answers seem always just around the corner but never actually come into view. The efforts to answer this seemingly simple question -- efforts that inevitably become entangled with hindsight bias, social factors and lose sight of the researc...

Human error is so often cited as a cause of accidents. There is perception of a 'human error problem'. Solutions are thought to lie in changing the people or their role. The label 'human error', however, is prejudicial and hides more than it reveals about how a system malfunctions. This book takes you behind the label. It explains how human error r...

In Reply. — I appreciate the comments of Dr Wallach and Ms Dyer. I do not agree that present medical students are inferior to their predecessors. Those of my acquaintance are enthusiastic, bright, and dedicated to the difficult task of becoming a physician. I agree with Dr Wallach that learning by medical students is of overriding importance. Lect...