The Wisdom of Crowds: Why the Many Are Smarter than the Few, and How Collective Wisdom Shapes Business, Economies, Societies, and Nations

Surowiecki, J. (2004). The Wisdom of Crowds: Why the Many Are Smarter than the Few, and How Collective Wisdom Shapes Business, Economies, Societies, and Nations. New York: Doubleday. 296 pages. ISBN 0-385-50386-5.

I finished reading The Wisdom of Crowds just as the 2004 U.S. presidential race came to an end. It was apt timing. My children were devastated by the results and were questioning the democratic process. I could see them losing faith in the system and in the judgment of the masses. I, too, was starting to question the wisdom of our electorate.

Thankfully, James Surowiecki's book, a celebration of the common man and woman, is a good antidote to the cynicism that was running through my family and which is rampant in many sectors of our society. In The Wisdom of Crowds, his theme is that "groups are remarkably intelligent," and that "chasing the expert is a mistake, and a costly one at that. We should ... ask the crowd." Surowiecki reinvigorated my confidence in the masses.

Confidence in groups isn't new...