Hi Just read a review of a new book called THE WISDOM OF CROWDS by James Surowiecki (Little, Brown, £16.99).
His central concept is that "under the right circumstances, groups are remarkably intelligent, and are often smarter than the smartest people in them." So-called experts do not get it right even when they ought to when compared to groups. Surowiecki argues that correct decisions from complex arguments are at their best when arrived at collectively. He sites four preconditions for intelligent group-based decision-making: First, that there should be a diversity of opinion; second, each person should be "independent;" third, the group offers "decentralisation;" and, fourth, there must be a mechanism for turning individual judgment into a collective decision. Does any of this sound familiar? Cheers Kerry Open Futures Edinburgh www.openfutures.com * * ========================================================== [email protected] ------------------------------ To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options, view the archives of [email protected]: http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html To learn about OpenSpaceEmailLists and OSLIST FAQs: http://www.openspaceworld.org/oslist
