I remember sitting in the back row of a cold sanctuary crying because I desperately wanted what the preacher was saying to be true but my doubts were preaching a sermon of their own and the streams of my tears turned into oceans of frustration. And something inside of me wished that somehow before she passed away she could pass her confidence down to me like an old family picture. But I know who I belong to.” And I was so happy for her. I had never seen such pain and such confidence living in the same eyes when she told me, “I don’t know what I’m gonna do. Last year, my grandmother laid in a hospital bed like a bus stop, waiting for God to come pick her up. I have lived in its darkness for so long. It seems that I have all the right questions, but never enough answers and my faith is small enough to fit in the cracks of my palms, God.Įvery night I lay my head down to sleep, the city of my mind is attacked by a legion of questions threatening the living rooms of my sanity and holding them hostage. To never know the day that you would finally live beyond the shadow of a doubt. What it feels like to have your entire belief system overload with skepticism. Because she had no idea of what it feels like to doubt. I remember, my little niece ran up to me and told me, “We learned about Jesus today.” And I could tell by her smile she was so excited to learn about this man she did not quite know yet, but she knew without a doubt for it to be true because, after all, Mommy said so.Īnd that was the first time in my life that I looked into the eyes of a child and envied them. (Read about my summer camp experience! The Summit) Reserve your free tickets to this community lecture here.įor those unable to attend in person, you can stream this lecture live via our YouTube, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebookpages.Hey! Welcome to my page! I hope you enjoy this transcription of such a wonderful piece. Sethi will be signing copies of his book in the Lensic lobby at 6:15 pm. He is on the editorial boards of the American Economic Review and Economics and Philosophy. His research deals primarily with information and beliefs, and he is a co-author of Shadows of Doubt: Stereotypes, Crime, and the Pursuit of Justice, published by Harvard University Press in 2019. He has previously held visiting positions at Microsoft Research in New York City, and at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton.

Rajiv Sethi is a Professor of Economics at Barnard College, Columbia University and an External Professor at the Santa Fe Institute. In this SFI Community Lecture, economist Rajiv Sethi shows how deeply stereotypes are implicated in the most controversial criminal justice issues of our time, and how a clearer understanding of their effects can guide us toward a more just society.

Stereotypes loom large under such conditions, and affect the workings of the justice system through insidious, pervasive, and sometimes surprising paths. Offenders, victims, police officers, prosecutors, witnesses, judges, and jurors all make high-stakes decisions with limited information, often under severe time pressure. Crime and punishment occur under extreme uncertainty.

Shadows of doubt and fear