Book: The Wisdom of Crowds
When first released, this book had a lot of blog coverage, and has been often cited, so I borrowed it from the library to see if its reputation was deserved.
Why is it that a group of people with no specialist knowledge can – when you average their guesses – make more accurate decisions than the smartest people in the group? And why do groups sometimes make terrible decisions?
This book asks these questions, and on the way discusses when it’s a good idea to ask questions of a crowd, how “society” is different from a group of people living near each other, and presents a range of examples from different fields.
It’s the kind of book you would enjoy reading on a plane, and makes you think more carefully about how you can best collaborate with others.