The wisdom of crowds : why the many are smarter than the few and how collective wisdom shapes business, economies, societies, and nations
In this book, New Yorker columnist Surowiecki explores a deceptively simple idea that has profound implications: large groups of people are smarter than an elite few, no matter how brilliant--better at solving problems, fostering innovation, coming to wise decisions, even predicting the future. This seemingly counterintuitive notion has major ramifications for how businesses operate, how knowledge is advanced, how economies are (or should be) organized and how we live our daily lives. With seemingly boundless erudition and in clear, entertaining prose, Surowiecki ranges across fields as diverse as popular culture, psychology, ant biology, economic behaviorism, artificial intelligence, military history and political theory to show just how this principle operates in the real world.--From publisher description
xxi, 296 pages ; 22 cm
9780385503860, 9780316861731, 0385503865, 0316861731
54022622
Wisdom of crowds
Difference difference makes: waggle dances, the Bay of Pigs, and the value of diversity
Monkey see, monkey do: imitation, information cascades, and independence
Putting the pieces together: the CIA, Linux, and the art of decentralization
Shall we dance?: coordination in a complex world
Society does exist: taxes, tipping, television, and trust
Traffic: what we have here is a failure to coordinate
Science: collaboration, competition, and reputation
Committees, juries, and teams: the Columbia disaster and how small groups can be made to work
Company: meet the new boss, same as the old boss?
Markets: beauty contests, bowling alleys, and stock prices
Democracy: dreams of the common good
Acknowledgments
Notes
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