The stupid wisdom of the stupid crowds

Scott R, Waco, TX — Mon, 18 Jun 2007 23:18:11 GMT

I used to work for a major computer manufacturer in Texas. After we had moved into a new research building, we had two fire alarm evacuations within two weeks. Microwave popcorn was removed from all the vending machines by the next morning. I wonder what the downtime costs would have worked out to.

The stupid wisdom of the stupid crowds

Eduardo — Tue, 19 Jun 2007 00:41:47 GMT

Hi Will!
Your posts are interesting as usual. Since you put the Paul Potts video I've been thrilled by this guy's story. The response from viewers at youtube has reached epic proportions now. Thanks again for finding stuff.

The stupid wisdom of the stupid crowds

Lynn Baltimore, MD — Tue, 19 Jun 2007 03:31:00 GMT

I think Monica Emmerson owes a VERY public apology to the TSA!! It is so obvious she completely represented her actions with the cup. If she spilled it by accident, she wouldn't have shaken it out... What a crock. Hope she has no chance of ever getting a security clearance again. Thanks for linking to the video!

The stupid wisdom of the stupid crowds

Chuck M, Vancouver WA — Tue, 19 Jun 2007 06:34:22 GMT

Instead of removing the popcorn or banning it, why didn't they do a RF leak check on the Microwave?

The stupid wisdom of the stupid crowds

Tim Knoxville, TN — Tue, 19 Jun 2007 12:20:43 GMT

I watched the tsa video and tbh, the lady seemed a little put off and irritated from the second video, but holy crap! ITS A FRIGGIN SIPPY CUP. Get over yourselves TSA. She was kept there way longer than she should have been for something as stupid as this. Even if she did it deliberately, which it appears she did, and was being rude, which it appears she very well might have been, the TSA should have taken the high road, made her empty the cup, and move on.
2 things stand out to me. The older white guy who is squatting and looking to make sure she didn't miss a spot smacks of pettiness, and the first video shows the posture of one of the TSA agents slumped over the little desk she has, obviously bored out of her mind and waiting for anything to break the mononity. Looks like they found something that would.

As for Obama girl, I guess if shes courting the 'cheat on your wife with me' vote, she succeded.

The stupid wisdom of the stupid crowds

Charles the Few — Tue, 19 Jun 2007 13:20:24 GMT

Will, why does TSA have to spend its (make that OUR) money rebutting the statements made of a FORMER Secret Service Agent? No charges or suits were filed, so why are they working on a media strategy? And the video, IMHO, seems to confirm her description of events.

The stupid wisdom of the stupid crowds

Tom, Worcester, MA — Tue, 19 Jun 2007 14:24:54 GMT

I guess it depends on where you grow up, but when I was a kid (50's and 60's), my friends and I would go all over the place. We would walk anywhere within 2 or 3 miles, and take our bikes for longer rides. We would often go 4 or 5 miles to places to swim or camp out. So, I think it has been much less than 4 generations. Thanks for the great links.

The stupid wisdom of the stupid crowds

Tue, 19 Jun 2007 14:43:21 GMT

So interesting about the amount of space kids have to roam in now. I was sent out of the house and told to come home for dinner, could have been anywhere and sometimes I was. The reality now that I have a kid is that I worry that he'll be abducted, or that he'll be hurt somewhere and I won't know where he is. Then there's the fear that if something did happen, or he was out by himself, DYFS might take him away from us for not watching him.

The stupid wisdom of the stupid crowds

lissa, price utah — Tue, 19 Jun 2007 16:14:51 GMT

Hey wil if you want to see the last 5 minutes of the opera guy, Paul Potts, check it out on youtube, they have a 'video response' to the original clip you featured.

The stupid wisdom of the stupid crowds

Gus — Tue, 19 Jun 2007 16:23:41 GMT

Every time I read about "the wisdom of the crowds", I have to ask: Where is the long list of significant human advancements created by a "wise mob", as opposed to an individual or a small team of experts?

Can anyone point me to such a list?

I'm looking for mob art (visual art, music, poetry, literature, whatever).

I'm looking for mob scientific advancements (physics, chemistry, medicine, biology, etc.).

I'm looking for philosophical works that challenge the human mind and expand its horizons.

How about technical achievements? I'm not talking about a moderate variation on existing technology (Linux, after all, isn't anything new, it's just a slight modification on how other operating systems are built, for example), I'm asking for something that has revolutionized some aspect of life. Fire, the wheel, bronze, steel, wood-pulp paper, printing presses, glass-blowing, transistors, radio, telegraph, telephone, even the Internet and the Web, where are the comparable inventions/revolutions from the "mob mind"?

I read about the wisdom of the mob, and I ask these questions. Can anyone answer them?

The stupid wisdom of the stupid crowds

Minnie Van Driver — Tue, 19 Jun 2007 17:39:45 GMT

Gus,
Nominations:
Linux
the entirety of the web

Honorable Mention:
Wikipedia (depending on your point of view)

The stupid wisdom of the stupid crowds

Brian, Winona Minnesota — Tue, 19 Jun 2007 17:47:19 GMT

There is one major advancement in science that was truely the colaboration of several Physicists and that is the quantum theory. One cannot tag quantum theory on just one person, instead it was widely developed by several scientists over the corse of decades. Even today the quantum field is ever expanding and in truth many don't even know the basics of the theory, which IMHO is probably one of the most elegant philosophical ideas ever created.

For a more well known philosophical idea how about democracy, it by definition is "power to the mob" and while you might be able to track down several individuals who could of created the idea of democracy, you would be hard pressed to prove that they were intirely and island of thought to themselves.

Many advancements are rarely claimed by a single individual, who can say without fault that he/she was not building off another previously existing idea. All the internet does is just make this point more appearent to the current culture than in past cultures.

The stupid wisdom of the stupid crowds

jh — Tue, 19 Jun 2007 18:13:05 GMT

Your comment regarding lazy citizen journalists seems a bit misguided in light of the fact that publishing unconfirmed propaganda from our government as fact has become the standard for American journalism. Why do you expect that citizen journalist should be held to a higher standard than the professional press? Did they earn the right to their laziness by attending journalism school? Laziness and lack of competent investigation of stories may be a real problem but I don't see any evidence that it is confined to non-professionals.

The stupid wisdom of the stupid crowds

Chelle, Oregon — Tue, 19 Jun 2007 18:46:19 GMT

I went through Logan airport on Sunday and witnessed the TSA staff asking an older lady to remove her fake hair and put it through x-ray. She was quite obviously mortified to have to do this, but did so with great dignity.

I understand the need to protect people from harm, but asking a woman to remove her hair... I don't know... that seems a bit more than necessary.

The stupid wisdom of the stupid crowds

Sean, Torrington CT — Tue, 19 Jun 2007 21:34:27 GMT

Cyber-cliques destroy the usefullness of these collaboration tools. They organize and flood these systems with data biased towards their beliefs. Other groups do the same.

Moderation is required, but moderation kinda defeats the point!

Web 2.0 is more like Web 1.0.0.1. A blog is a goddamn web page for people too stupid to use text editor and an FTP client to make a discussion page they own.

Meh.

The stupid wisdom of the stupid crowds

Jeff Hoffman, Los Angeles, CA — Wed, 20 Jun 2007 03:27:27 GMT

Just a thought about the never-ending Elections here in the US. The more I read about the Parlimentary systems in Canada and England (among others), the more I like it. Elections aren't fixed and can happen anytime in a five-year period. That way, for the most part, the longest a campaign lasts is 60-90 days. By the way, how much work is getting done while our presidential candidates/govenors, legislators are participating in their ongoing campaigns?

The stupid wisdom of the stupid crowds

Jim — Wed, 20 Jun 2007 14:36:13 GMT

Brian. You are right that quantum physics and the advancements that have been made in that field have been made by a group of physicists and not just one single individual just like most sciences; however, that group of people is a very small unique group of experts that for the most part have spent years learning concepts, exploring ideas and experimenting with hypothesis. They by no means are the 'mob' or general public.
This is also true of inventions and concepts that are not 'original' ideas but improvements upon older ideas and concepts. It is usually a person with a unique perspective due to their varied experiences through life that makes those improvements. Again not the mob.

And democracy while being 'mob rule' is not and has not been practiced in its truest form by any government in history. The USA is a democratic republic not a true democracy it just incorporates some of the principles of democracy.

You are also correct that the Internet does point out that alot of improvements/advancements/invention in science & industry are built upon ideas that were originally created by others; however, I believe that Internet and the vast majority of the people pushing the wonders of the internet have lost the fact that advancements are made by experts and not by the 'mob intelligence' that the Internet provides.

The stupid wisdom of the stupid crowds

Don Tuite, California — Wed, 20 Jun 2007 17:47:47 GMT

I suppose that Natural Selection is the epitome of the wisdom of crowds. Its accomplishments are impressive, given the fact that it started with only lightning and primordial soup, but inasmuch as its crowning achievement to date is dolphins, well, I guess that's sorta cool. On the other hand,it also produced these talking monkeys . . . .

The stupid wisdom of the stupid crowds

Johns — Wed, 20 Jun 2007 18:04:05 GMT

If you watch the TSA video for a bit after she dumped her cup out, you'll see a frail elderly woman being helped as she walked right through where the water was. What if she had slipped in that water and had gotten hurt? It's for that reason I side with the TSA - that could have been a real nightmare!

The stupid wisdom of the stupid crowds

Carol Seattle — Wed, 20 Jun 2007 19:10:14 GMT

Microwave popcorn is banned in many medical buildings, since the smell makes chemotherapy patients nauseous.

The stupid wisdom of the stupid crowds

scalpod — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 20:12:13 GMT

Gus,

I'd also include the new phenomenon of 'flash mobs' and some of the group performance art styled events I've read about like impromptu 'zombie invasions' in major cities...

The stupid wisdom of the stupid crowds

Bob Morazes — Tue, 10 Jul 2007 02:23:15 GMT

Woo Hoo
Power to the people! I, for one, hate the paranoia that the USA is being driven too. But, this 4th of July, on the mall, after the fireworks, there were thousands of people heading towards 14th st. The pace was quite good for that many people. Then it stopped because there was snow fence keeping us all in. DUH. What was that for??
Give me a break.
I cried out in a loud voice "Storm the Bastille"
And I like to think I was heard by the folks in front that trounced the snow fence and let us all out and on our way.
Thank you, you brave souls!!
Power to the crowd. Down with paranoia!!