The problem is that groups are only smart when the people in them are as independent as possible. This is the paradox of the wisdom of crowds.
James SurowieckiUnlike fuel-economy standards, the most common method of reducing demand for oil over the past thirty years, a gas tax doesn't tell people what kind of car to drive. It simply raises the price of gasoline and lets people adjust their behavior accordingly.
James SurowieckiWall Street has come a long way from the insider-dominated world that was blown apart by the Great Depression.
James SurowieckiIf private-equity firms are as good at remaking companies as they claim, they don't need tax loopholes to make money.
James SurowieckiMeeting external deadlines is much harder than meeting internal ones. On the other hand, internal deadlines sometimes don't feel real, and are therefore easy to evade.
James SurowieckiThe fact that cognitive diversity matters does not mean that if you assemble a group of diverse but thoroughly uninformed people, their collective wisdom will be smarter than an expert's. But if you can assemble a diverse group of people who possess varying degrees of knowledge and insight, you're better off entrusting it with major decisions rather than leaving them in the hands of one or two people, no matter how smart those people are.
James Surowiecki