The Wisdom of Crowds

The Wisdom of Crowds is a concept suggesting that large groups of people can collectively make better decisions or predictions than individuals or even experts. In general knowledge, this phenomenon occurs when diverse opinions and insights from many contributors are aggregated, leading to more accurate conclusions. For example, when estimating the number of jellybeans in a jar, the average of many guesses tends to be surprisingly close to the actual number. This effect relies on the crowd being diverse and independent, allowing unique perspectives to combine, which often results in enhanced accuracy and insight over individual judgments.