Highlights from James Surowiecki's book The Wisdom of Crowds

H. L. Mencken who once wrote, "No one is this world, so far as I know, has ever lost money by underestimating the intelligence of the great masses of the plain people." Well, perhaps he was wrong, Surowiecki finds that non-experts are collectively smarter than individual experts or even small groups of experts.

Francis Galton

The 20th century British scientist Francis Galton believed that political power should stay within the hands of the few well-bred individuals. Hence, he devoted much of his career to measuring physical and mental qualities of ordinary people.