Why Smart Groups Make Bad Decisions

Smart people can make terrible decisions—or brilliant ones. What makes the difference? In Goodthink: The New Science of Collective Intelligence, Damon Centola, a University of Pennsylvania professor who directs the Network Dynamics Group, shares two decades of research showing that a group's structure matters more than its talent. Put doctors in the right kind of network, and their diagnostic accuracy doubles; put them in the wrong one, and error explodes. Then we revisit Damon's book Change: How to Make Big Things Happen for the flip side: how ideas actually spread through social networks, and why ordinary people—not influencers—are often the ones who tip the balance. If you've ever left a meeting wondering how everyone agreed on the wrong answer, this one's for you.

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