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Linux is a complex example of the wisdom of crowds. It's a good example in the sense that it shows you can set people to work in a decentralized way - that is, without anyone really directing their efforts in a particular direction - and still trust that they're going to come up with good answers.

From James Surowiecki

Sometimes even a smart crowd will make a mistake.

From James Surowiecki

Capitalism, after all, is no fun when real failure becomes a possibility.

From James Surowiecki

What the investment community does like is short-term measures designed to boost share prices.

From James Surowiecki

Defense contractors are able to reap tremendous profits while rarely confronting the risks for which those profits are supposed to be the reward.

From James Surowiecki

In a world where companies increasingly know about their business in real time, it makes no sense that public reporting mostly follows the old quarterly schedule. Companies sit on vital information until reporting day, at which point the market goes crazy.

From James Surowiecki

If companies tell us more, insider trading will be worth less.

From James Surowiecki

For a crowd to be smart, the people in it need to be not only diverse in their perspectives but also, relatively speaking, independent of each other. In other words, you need people to be thinking for themselves, rather than following the lead of those around them.

From James Surowiecki

On the simplest level, telecommuting makes it harder for people to have the kinds of informal interactions that are crucial to the way knowledge moves through an organization. The role that hallway chat plays in driving new ideas has become a cliche of business writing, but that doesn't make it less true.

From James Surowiecki

Workers who come to the U.S. see their wages and their standard of living boosted sharply simply by crossing the border. That's a good thing, and one of the best arguments for immigration reform, even if you'll rarely hear a politician make it.

From James Surowiecki

James Surowiecki

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