About this title: A revolutionary look at the way the world works by the "New Yorker's" financial columnist, this work investigates how large groups of people run their businesses, organize society, structure their political system, fight terrorism, and think about the future--all better than an elite few.
Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is described below.
Binding: Trade paperback
Publisher: Anchor Books
Date Published: 2005
ISBN-13:9780385721707ISBN:0385721706
Description: Good. No dust jacket as issued. Yellow highlighting on about 6 pages; very light cover wear; no remainder mark; no spine crease; binding tight; pages bright, odor-free; will pack securely, ship promptly with delivery Confirmation. Trade paperback (US). Glued binding. 336 p. Audience: General/trade. read more
Edition: NEW ED
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: LITTLE, BROWN BOOK GROUP Country = UNITED KINGDOM
Date Published: 2005
ISBN-13:9780349116051ISBN:0349116059
Description: BRAND NEW PAPERBACK. 320 pages. (320 pages) this title aims to reveal how collective wisdom shapes business, economics, society and nations. edition new ed (Paperback) read more
Binding: Trade paperback
Publisher: Anchor Books
Date Published: 2005
ISBN-13:9780385721707ISBN:0385721706
Description: Very good. No dust jacket as issued. clean pages fast shipping delivery with confirmation number. Trade paperback (US). Glued binding. 336 p. Audience: General/trade. read more
"I write this review unsure if I gave this book the attention it deserved. Generally, all books I "read" are on audiobook. This means I will miss things as my mind wanders or my attention is demanded. But usually, my listening comprehension is at least decent. This one, I came away not fully remembering what was in it.
It seemed to me a hodge-podge of ideas similar to those found in other books I've read. The message seemed to be "Crowds are wise, except for when they are not." I have not decided how much I agree with the rules set forth for this or if the author's bias is too strong, as with some of Malcom Gladwell's books. The subjects covered seemed very diverse, and I found myself wanting to chat with Porter (my hubby) about a given subject only to have forgotten what that subject was when the next one came along.
So, all in all, this book left too little impression on me, but I cannot objectively tell if that is the book's fault or mine."
"This is one of those required reads for anybody who is entrusted with making decisions for his/her organization. Now, as someone who is paid to be smart and insightful, I'm not crazy about the findings that a large enough group is wiser and more right than the smartest individual members of that group. But findings is what findings is.
One day, somebody should - maybe I should - develop a curriculum of important ideas in social science that would help creative folks be even more creative. If so, this, Tipping Point and a few others would be required reading."
"Crowds and committees can make decisions that are as good as -- and often times better than -- a knowledgable individual. As someone who's never been a fan of "group think," I found this book enlightening; it changed my perspective on what's important to making high-quality decisions. This is, in part, becuase there's a lot of research referenced in this book to support the author's thesis. The book also helps explain the power of today's social media. I'd read Malcolm Gladwell's book, BLINK, about a year before, and I found myself relating some of Surowiecki's points to that book; in fact, Surowiecki mentions Gladwell's work in this book."
"Updated 4/12/09. I was handing out this book to all my friends and colleagues at work, especially our president, who seemed to think a small coterie of sycophants was all he needed.
From an earlier review I wrote some time ago: Wisdom of Crowds is a very insightful book about how we make decisions. The author describes the dangers of homogeneity in promoting group think, something we will begin to see more of in the Bush second administration as he builds his Cabinet with "Yes" men and women. Analysis by social scientists shows that decisions made by groups that permit little diversity are often wrong and conformity to adhere to the majority opinion can be very strong. Solomon Asch 's studies on conformity showed that an individual would often agree with the group even if there was overwhelming evidence to the contrary. For example, when presented with a card showing lines of different lengths and asked to pick the shortest one, subjects would almost always pick the one chosen by other members of the group (the experimenter's confederates) even when it was obviously not the shortest.
Many of Surowiceki's arguments seem counter-intuitive, but he cites a fair amount of evidence that the best decisions, on average, are always made by groups rather than individuals regardless of their expertise. In fact, he says: "... the more power you give a single individual in the face of complexity and uncertainty, the more likely it is that bad decisions will get made."
For the group decision-making process to work the best, several elements must be present.
1. A formal process for encouraging disagreement must be present;
2. The group must consist of stakeholders and non-stakeholders, i.e., people normally not part of the group should be present to make sure diversity of opinion is present. Diversity guarantees that multiple perspectives are brought into the decision-making process and that a broader range of information is included;
3. the group must belief and see that it has the responsibility for making decisions. If the decision is made elsewhere, the result is the opposite, i.e., bad results or at least not the best;
4. individuals be independent and have that independence respected to avoid being swayed by a leader or one powerful individual,
5. and there be a process for aggregating the opinions. It's important that pressure to conform be suppressed.
An intelligent group does not ask of its individual members to conform to the dominant view. Instead it creates a mechanism that resembles a democracy or a market. Individual group members get the opportunity to bring in their own information and opinions and are not forced to change their views. Their independence must be explicitly protected.
Much like army ants in a circular mill who die from exhaustion following a lost leader, humans will often indulge in group think and group action even if it is not in their interest to do so. And the more influence we exert on one another the more likely we are to become collectively dummer. A very good argument for encouraging independent thinkers and nay sayers.
The first half, or so, of the book is theory (sounds dry, but it's really quite fascinating) followed by some case studies."
We guarantee every item's condition, as described on Alibris. If you are not satisfied that an item is as described, return your purchase for a refund.
rating
