Surowiecki Oversimplified

James Surowiecki explains and highlights crowd-based expertise in The Wisdom of Crowds. Surowiecki’s book is important, though I didn’t personally find it mind-blowing when I read it several years ago. It succeeded in finding a mainstream audience for ideas that were already in the air. It wasn’t revolutionary at the time, nor is it expansive in breadth or depth. It doesn’t cover a whole lot of ground, but it does so reasonably well — as long as you read it carefully and critically, it will not steer you wrong.

Nevertheless, too many people oversimplify Surowiecki’s arguments. He is not saying that crowds are always wise. To paraphrase, Surowiecki says that a properly assembled, diverse crowd will, on average, give a better estimate for certain kinds of problems than a so-called expert. A savvy reader should ask at least two follow-up questions:
1. What is a properly assembled, diverse crowd?
2. What certain kinds of problems are we talking about?

If you haven’t thought through these questions well enough to have some clear answers, then you are missing the essence of his book.