Re: [projectvrm] Forget The Wisdom of Crowds; Neurobiologists Reveal The Wisdom Of The Confident

[Tom Crowl < >]

Its always about manufactured consent. Even North Korea has consent from its governed...

"WHAT!" YOU SAY! THAT'S RIDICULOUS!

When you get down to it consent simply means to "travel along with".. even if you hate every minute of the trip.

Now willing consent is another thing... (better but also a feature of a Brave New World)....

And informed consent is another yet... this is closer to the ideal we seek.. though even with this there will be different ideas about how things should be... whether culturally, economically or whatever. 

Now the ruler in his deepest Freudian fantasies likes the first option... (Just follow me I know what's best... and I don't want to waste any time on arguments from you foolish citizens). I'd probably be like this if given the chance. Don't make me emperor. 

The second is the option if you have to deal with a population that likes to pretend it runs itself... and works if you can get them satiated enough (bread and circuses)... or scared enough (the barbarians are at the gate)... or just oblivious to any alternatives (the duopolist groupthink political coverage spewed by the mainstream media)

Informed consent (a population of skeptical rationalists constantly nit-picking and complaining) is the best plan... to evolve towards a balanced, enlightenment-oriented society.

And its also the biggest pain in the rear end to govern... has never in history appeared for more than an instant if that.... but nevertheless is THE necessary goal.

So the actual duty of good citizenship is to be a pain-in-the-ass to the government. I believe the Internet needs to develop better pain-in-the-ass machines for good citizenship. We shouldn't be emperors... but we do need bigger pains-in-the-ass.

Tom Crowl

http://CulturalEngineer.blogspot.com

On Tue, Jul 15, 2014 at 7:45 AM, John Wunderlich < " target="_blank"> > wrote:

This would be bait if I send it to the list, but the quote you used reminded me immediately of Chomsky's "Manufactured Consent"

John Wunderlich

Privacist @PrivacyCDN

On 15 July 2014 09:49, Tom Crowl < " target="_blank"> > wrote:

Forget The Wisdom of Crowds; Neurobiologists Reveal The Wisdom Of The Confident

http://www.technologyreview.com/view/528941/forget-the-wisdom-of-crowds-neurobiologists-reveal-the-wisdom-of-the-confident/

From the piece:

"It turns out that if a crowd offers a wide range of independent estimates, then it is more likely to be wise. But if members of the crowd are influenced in the same way, for example by each other or by some external factor, then they tend to converge on a biased estimate. In this case, the crowd is likely to be stupid."

Does this mean that democracy won't work? Or that Jamie Dimon should run the world? NO! But it does mean that there's a wide dispersal of "independent thinkers" (see the piece)... and that where influence is narrowly focused... and voices lack access to the discussion (traditionally we are ruled by a wealthy social class which despite its own divisions shares certain interests and biases)... policy will be skewed increasingly over time... with compliance from the 'easily influenced' easily gained.... until those independent thinkers turn into Che Guevera... and steer an increasingly neglected and disaffected crowd into other directions.

I don't believe either Party in the U.S. has escaped that bias... and both OWS and the Tea Party are reflections of the reaction. I believe there are similar patterns elsewhere. I also believe the liklihood is that it will get worse as ICT increases... and governance becomes more difficult on all levels.

From Elizabeth Warren:

"After dinner, “Larry leaned back in his chair and offered me some advice,” Ms. Warren writes. “I had a choice. I could be an insider or I could be an outsider. Outsiders can say whatever they want. But people on the inside don’t listen to them. Insiders, however, get lots of access and a chance to push their ideas. People — powerful people — listen to what they have to say. But insiders also understand one unbreakable rule: They don’t criticize other insiders."

Catalyze the Net!

Tom Crowl

http://CulturalEngineer.blogspot.com