In this fascinating book, New Yorker business columnist James Surowiecki explores a deceptively simple idea: 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. With boundless erudition and in delightfully clear prose, Surowiecki ranges across fields as diverse as popular culture, psychology, ant biology, behavioral economics, artificial intelligence, military history, and politics to show how this simple idea offers important lessons for how we live our lives, select our leaders, run our companies, and think about our world.
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 4.0 / 5.0
Really Good Book:
I borrowed this book from the local library. I just finished it yesterday. It is a really quick read. I liked how the author used "real world" examples to illustrate his point. I plan to apply many of these techniques into my own business.
great stuff!:
I read this for a MBA class. Out of the stack of books assigned, so far, this is the only one I liked. It is relevant to today's curious questions of how to get crowds engaged, how crowds behave, and why we even care. I'm trying to teach people to work collaboratively together at work. They "think" they already are doing this but the author gives me new ideas on how to further their participation in team work. I find that in corporate america, people contribute mostly in their assigned role. "I am a... more info
UNique thinking for these turbulent times:
I love books that take a new and unique idea, thoroughly research and expand the idea, and then present the findings in an entertaining, though-provoking way. The Wisdom of Crowds is one such book. Other recent titles that have achieved the same type of cult following for presenting unique hypotheses include The Tipping Point, Blink and The 4 Hour Work Week. You know the old saying, if you always do what you've always done, you'll always get what you always got, and in the current turbulent... more info
Hilarious!:
Hee, hee, hee! This title and this book sure look funny right now (September 22nd, 2008). Do we follow the wisdom of the crowds on Wall Street (which, if left to its own devises will continue to drive financial titans into bankrupcy), or the machinations of the dubious experts (Paulson & Bernanke), who will put us on the hook for hundreds of billions for years to come? Maybe it's time to dust off that 19th Century classic "The Madness of Crowds" instead of reading this smug balderdash.
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