Surowiecki's "The Wisdom of Crowds"

Surowiecki's "The Wisdom of Crowds" argues that large, diverse groups of people can often make better decisions than individuals or small teams. When opinions are independent and varied, the collective judgment tends to be accurate because errors cancel out, leading to a reliable consensus. This concept applies in contexts like guessing the weight of an object or predicting market trends. However, for the crowd to be wise, members must think independently and contribute diverse perspectives, avoiding herd mentality or groupthink that can distort the group's wisdom.