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Title: The Wisdom of Crowds: Why the Many Are Smarter Than the Few and How Collective Wisdom Shapes Business, Economies, Societies and Nations by James Surowiecki ISBN: 0-385-50386-5 Publisher: Doubleday Pub. Date: 25 May, 2004 Format: Hardcover Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $24.95

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Average Customer Rating: 3.62 (8 reviews)

Rating: 5
Summary: superb and smart
Comment: This is a great, eye-opening book by one of America's best columnists. Anyone who's curious about the way things work should read it. The thesis is a provocative one, but it's by no means simplistic, as some reviews here have suggested: essentially Surowiecki argues that under the right circumstances a "crowd" (defined as a large group of independent actors) is "smarter" than the experts within it. It's a surprising idea, and one that goes against the grain-which is precisely why the book is engaging. In no sense is Surowiecki, who ranges widely acroos topics, arguing that crowds or mobs are always smart, or that the best American Idol contestant will win every time. Rather, he's offering an insightful (and almost eerie) series of explanations for solving or conceptualizing real-life problems: among other things, how to harness group knowledge to avert terrorism, to put an end to traffic, and to create a more efficient society. Throughout, Surowiecki is an ideal guide, companionable, curious, and comprehensible--and a step ahead of your own skeptical arching of the eyebrows. As a result this book really will alter the way you think about everyday life; and you'll want to talk about it with other people.

Rating: 3
Summary: Accessible tome on behavioral economics and game theory.
Comment: The Wisdom of Crowds : Why the Many Are Smarter Than the Few and How Collective Wisdom Shapes Business,Economies, Societies and Nations by James Surowiecki is, essentially, a thoroughly accessible and readable tome on applied behavioral economics and game theory.

I know that doesn't sound too exciting, but this actually is a fascinating book that is something of a page turner if you have even the most vestigial interest in the topic.

The premise isn't new-those who are denizens of Wall Street and know Robert Prechter's oft cited work with Elliott Wave Theory will know something of the underlying premises of the book. However, Surowiecki takes this notion and moves well beyond the confined world if inventing (though he covers that as well) to apply the principles he delineates to life in general-behavior in traffic, tracking and responding to disease, navigating the internet and so on.

The strength of the boom is Surowiecki's ability to render the underpinnings of his theoretical paradigm in easily understandable terms and examples. Additionally, the book features an excellent opening that provides a wonderful foundation as regards applied behavioral economics and game theory in general.

On the other hand, Surowiecki tends to play both sides of the street. He uses his "expert" position on the subject to configure his arguments and analysis to tilt the weight of evidence behind his theory in many cases. In other words, his familiarity with where he wants this to go influences his choices of examples. Moreover, he relies on too few examples in too many cases. For example, the world of wall Street should have provided a wealth of examples as to the validity-and the errors-inherent in his theory. His choices seem to be crafted to provide maximum support while eliminating any element of contraindication whatsoever.

So, in the end, despite the fact that Surowiecki has written a wonderfully readable book, and posited some fascinating theoretical axioms, the book feels a bit to tilted to be thoroughly honest with the subject matter in an applied arena. Surowiecki gives us much food for thought but also leaves us with reasons to doubt somewhat his objectivity and intellectual honesty. That fact detracts frm the value of the book, and that's a shame.

Rating: 3
Summary: Wisdom of Crowds overstates the positive
Comment: The book is interesting, well written, and covers much of the recent research on collective or group decision making, but it has glaring oversights. The author is most at home in economics where the book does the best at reporting research findings, but his references to social conformity are very limited despite that being at the core of the book. He completely overlooks research on the nonconscious dimension of decision making and implicit or automatic learning (at the basis of stereotypes and racial prejudice), and he neglects negative findings that groups may not outperform the best individuals in problem solving. From a reading of the book alone, one would never expect to see something like racial discrimination, the Holocaust, or the Taliban emerge in a society. Although the title refers to "societies and nations", the book only concerns the United States. Toward the end of the book, his accounts of the academic review process, the progress of science, and voting theories are naive at best. The book has no index.

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