About the book
New Yorker business columnist James Surowiecki argues in his 2004 book that large groups often decide better than any single member, or even experts, provided its members are diverse and decide independently. He opens with Francis Galton's surprise at a county fair, where the median of many guesses at an ox's weight came closer to the truth than most individual estimates. Surowiecki sorts crowd wisdom into cognition, coordination and cooperation, and also examines failures such as market bubbles, where people imitate one another instead of thinking for themselves. Examples range across psychology, ant biology, artificial intelligence and military history. The title nods to the madness of crowds named in Charles Mackay's 1841 book on popular delusions.
Deal'n founder Nadia Al Sheikh noted that people elect leaders they believe know better, yet the crowd has often proved more accurate than most of the smartest ones; her lesson was to listen to people and learn from them.
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This book has 1 recommendation
Nadia Al Sheikh (Founder/Deal’n)
Although we tend to elect leaders that we believe know better and follow them hoping for a better future, better life & a safer life. Surprisingly in many cases the wisdom of the crowd has proven to be more accurate than most of our smartest leaders. The message for me is to learn to listen to the people and to learn from them assuming you know nothing with that you will learn a lot!
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