This book discusses society's issues with cognition, coordination and cooperation leading to the conclusion that these very factors differentiate societies from groups of people that just live together. Surowiecki also makes a strong case that independent, unbiased, well-thought out decisions by a group of individuals will more often than not produce a better answer than the best answer from a single individual. However, people are constantly watching one another and creating opinions based... (show more)

This book discusses society's issues with cognition, coordination and cooperation leading to the conclusion that these very factors differentiate societies from groups of people that just live together. Surowiecki also makes a strong case that independent, unbiased, well-thought out decisions by a group of individuals will more often than not produce a better answer than the best answer from a single individual. However, people are constantly watching one another and creating opinions based on others' actions, which can lead to dependency as shown throughout history with market bubbles. Although, I was skeptical at first that this was another organizational behavior book with the same message delivered in a different format, my mind was quickly changed and I was more than satisfied by the thoughts and lessons offered by the author. (show less)