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The Wisdom Of Crowds

Photo: IAN RANSLEY DESIGN + ILLUSTRATION

Most of us probably remember the television program Who Wants To Be A Millionaire—originally hosted in the United States by Regis Philbin—in which contestants were given three “lifelines” they could use to get help answering questions to earn money.  What I found most striking about the show was that whenever a contestant used the “ask the audience” lifeline the choice that the majority of the audience favored was always the correct one Continue reading…

The Diffusion Of Responsibility

Photo: simminch

Once while I was jogging along Lake Michigan, I came upon a large crowd surrounding a middle-aged man lying supine on the ground.  I stopped to assess the scene and saw the man wasn’t moving—at all.  Two people were bending over him and trying to shake him awake.

“What happened?” I asked.

“He fell,” someone, a woman, said. Continue reading…