Crowd: Difference between revisions
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== The Wisdom of Crowds == | == The Wisdom of Crowds == | ||
An old saying says: "a problem shared is a problem halved". James Surowiecki named | An old saying says: "a problem shared is a problem halved". James Surowiecki named four requirements for "wise groups" in his book "The Wisdom of Crowds": diversity of opinion, independence, decentralization and aggregation. According to Surowiecki, these key criteria separate wise crowds from irrational ones: | ||
{| class="wikitable" | |||
|- | |||
!Criteria | |||
!Description | |||
|- | |||
|Diversity of opinion | |||
|Each person should have private information even if it's just an eccentric interpretation of the known facts. | |||
|- | |||
|Independence | |||
|People's opinions aren't determined by the opinions of those around them. | |||
|- | |||
|Decentralization | |||
|People are able to specialize and draw on local knowledge. | |||
|- | |||
|Aggregation | |||
|Some mechanism exists for turning private judgments into a collective [[Decision making|decision]]. | |||
|} | |||
Large fish shoals for example should fulfill them: "many eyes" lead to a diversity of opinion about potential threats, the opinion of the "selfish" fishes about a threat is not determined by the opinions of those around them, and they are decentralized by default. | |||
== Books == | == Books == | ||
Revision as of 07:46, 6 March 2011
A crowd is a large and definable group of people considered together.
Crowdsourcing
Crowdsourcing is the act of outsourcing tasks, traditionally performed by an employee or contractor, to an undefined, large group of people or community (a "crowd"), through an open call. It means delegating a task to a large diffuse group, usually without monetary compensation.
The Wisdom of Crowds
An old saying says: "a problem shared is a problem halved". James Surowiecki named four requirements for "wise groups" in his book "The Wisdom of Crowds": diversity of opinion, independence, decentralization and aggregation. According to Surowiecki, these key criteria separate wise crowds from irrational ones:
| Criteria | Description |
|---|---|
| Diversity of opinion | Each person should have private information even if it's just an eccentric interpretation of the known facts. |
| Independence | People's opinions aren't determined by the opinions of those around them. |
| Decentralization | People are able to specialize and draw on local knowledge. |
| Aggregation | Some mechanism exists for turning private judgments into a collective decision. |
Large fish shoals for example should fulfill them: "many eyes" lead to a diversity of opinion about potential threats, the opinion of the "selfish" fishes about a threat is not determined by the opinions of those around them, and they are decentralized by default.
Books
- Patrick R. Laughlin, Group Problem Solving, Princeton University Press, 2011
- James Surowiecki, The Wisdom of Crowds, Doubleday, 2004
Links
- Wikipedia entry for Crowd
- Wikipedia entry for Crowdsourcing
- Wikipedia entry for The Wisdom of Crowds
