Hide this

Results from Google Books

Click on a thumbnail to go to Google Books.

The Wisdom of Crowds: Why the Many Are…
Loading...

The Wisdom of Crowds: Why the Many Are Smarter Than the Few and How… (2004)

by James Surowiecki

Other authors: See the other authors section.

MembersReviewsPopularityAverage ratingMentions
3,024521,717 (3.77)23
  1. 20
    Here Comes Everybody: The Power of Organizing Without Organizations by Clay Shirky (rakerman)
    rakerman: Shirky covers a lot of the "nonintuitive properties of internet-enabled crowds" ground that is explored in depth in Wisdom of Crowds
  2. 02
    Simplexity: Why Simple Things Become Complex by Jeffrey Kluger (Othemts)
Loading...

Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book.

English (50)  German (1)  French (1)  All languages (52)
Showing 1-5 of 50 (next | show all)
Should have known better with a comparison to Malcolm Gladwell on the front.

A mildly interesting idea with some neat examples, some misquotes and distortions, and nothing much aside from anecdotal evidence. This would have worked out much better as an article rather than a book. ( )
  HadriantheBlind | Mar 30, 2013 |
Excellent read! I will need to re-read it often to remind me of the message that groups made up of diverse, independent, individuals can make good decisions - even better than the expert. ( )
  addunn3 | Jun 20, 2012 |
Another interesting title, The Wisdom of the Crowds. Another long subtitle: Why the Many Are Smarter Than the Few. These authors writing about the social media intentionally choose a very catchy, crisp and sharp title for their books. For example: The Long Tail, Everything is Miscellaneous, Here Comes Everybody, Free, Too Big to Know. But note also their way too long subtitles wherein you observe some striking similarity.
Having noted this, I should say this book did not live my expectations. I think the book would have been better without the example about Francis Galton's findings about the wisdom of the crowds to accurately guess the weight of an ox. My problem with this example is that in guessing the weight of the ox, there is little intelligence (cognition) exerted. But it seems this example is widely cited whenever there is an article about wisdom of crowds. But reading through the rest of the text, it is such an interesting read, with striking analysis and discussions. The most interesting discussions are about independent decision making and the presence of disagreements rather than mere consensus. I want to use this book for my research in relation to metadata. This can be read along with Wikinomics which is even more fascinating with more practical examples. ( )
  getaneha | Jan 16, 2012 |
The Yang to the Yin of 'The Cult of the Amateur'.
1 vote mdstarr | Sep 11, 2011 |
In a way, it's difficult for me to render any sort of judgment on "The Wisdom of Crowds." I don't know a lot about economics; I made the mistake of majoring in the humanities. Heck, I think I'm the only person on the planet who hasn't read "Freakonomics." Still, I don't think "The Wisdom of Crowds" is about economics per se. Rather, it wants to encourage its readership to take a good, hard look at its assumptions about group dynamics and intelligence. Surowiecki posits that groups, if they are balanced, independent, and have a reliable method of aggregating their opinions, can often make better decisions than any of their members. What he's really fighting, though, two cultural cults: that of the individual and that of the technocratic expert. He's taking issue with the old saw that a committee is an organism with twelve legs and no brains. I could go on, but you get the picture. In this I think he succeeds.

In a roundabout way, Surowiecki is also making an argument for the efficiency of markets and the advantages of personal choice. He does this without going the full Friedman, which should make his arguments more palatable to those who know him from his columns for the New Yorker, who – let's be honest – may be more willing to examine markets' failures than their successes. Surowiecki's takes time to discuss dangers like panics and bubbles, but remains steadfast in his belief that a group of people bringing their own perspectives to a problem may be better equipped to find a solution than any one individual. From another perspective, what Surowiecki is doing in "The Wisdom of Crowds" is urging humility: if none of us can know everything all the time, the next best thing is for all of us to contribute a little to a group-oriented solution. This book is, pun intended, recommended to everyone. ( )
  TheAmpersand | Mar 4, 2011 |
Showing 1-5 of 50 (next | show all)
In ''The Wisdom of Crowds,'' James Surowiecki, who writes a column called The Financial Page for The New Yorker, challenges that received wisdom. He marshals evidence from the social sciences indicating that people in large groups are, in effect, better informed and more rational than any single member might be. The author has a knack for translating the most algebraic of research papers into bright expository prose -- though the swarm of anecdotes at times makes it difficult to follow the progress of his argument.
added by mikeg2 | editNew York Times, Scott McLemee (May 22, 2004)
 
New Yorker business columnist Surowiecki enlivens his argument with dozens of illuminating anecdotes and case studies from business, social psychology, sports, and everyday life.
added by Katya0133 | editEntertainment Weekly, David Koeppel
 
What emerges in "The Wisdom of Crowds" is a book that is both clever and slightly tiresome.
added by Katya0133 | editWall Street Journal, George Anders
 
This work is an intriguing study of collective intelligence and how it works in contemporary society.
added by Katya0133 | editLibrary Journal, Lucy Heckman
 
Surowiecki's style is pleasantly informal, a tactical disguise for what might otherwise be rather dense material.
added by Katya0133 | editPublishers Weekly
 

» Add other authors (10 possible)

Author nameRoleType of authorWork?Status
James Surowieckiprimary authorall editionsconfirmed
Häilä, ArtoTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Surowiecki, JamesAfterwordsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
You must log in to edit Common Knowledge data.
For more help see the Common Knowledge help page.
Series (with order)
Canonical title
Original title
Alternative titles
Original publication date
People/Characters
Important places
Important events
Related movies
Awards and honors
Epigraph
Dedication
First words
Quotations
Last words
Disambiguation notice
Publisher's editors
Blurbers
Publisher series
Book description
Haiku summary

Amazon.com Product Description (ISBN 0385721706, Paperback)

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.

(retrieved from Amazon Thu, 14 Feb 2013 13:43:08 -0500)

(see all 5 descriptions)

In this book, New Yorker columnist Surowiecki explores a deceptively simple idea that has profound implications: 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 seemingly boundless erudition and in clear, entertaining prose, Surowiecki ranges across fields as diverse as popular culture, psychology, ant biology, economic behaviorism, artificial intelligence, military history and political theory to show just how this principle offers important lessons for how e live our lives, select our leaders, run our companies, and think about our world.--From publisher description.… (more)

» see all 3 descriptions

Quick Links

Swap Ebooks Audio
9 avail.
455 wanted
2 pay9 pay

Popular covers

Rating

Average: (3.77)
0.5 1
1 6
1.5 6
2 26
2.5 7
3 156
3.5 38
4 266
4.5 22
5 116

Audible.com

Four editions of this book were published by Audible.com.

See editions

Is this you?

Become a LibraryThing Author.

 

Help/FAQs | About | Privacy/Terms | Blog | Contact | LibraryThing.com | APIs | WikiThing | Common Knowledge | Legacy Libraries | 81,917,292 books!