Comments on: Collective Stupidity: The Negative Externalities of Crowds and Why HyperLocal Could be Lame http://blog.geoiq.com/2008/07/10/collective-stupidity-the-negative-externalities-of-crowds-and-why-hperlocal-could-be-lame/ News and updates from GeoIQ Sun, 20 May 2012 18:37:19 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 By: Zoey Diaz http://blog.geoiq.com/2008/07/10/collective-stupidity-the-negative-externalities-of-crowds-and-why-hperlocal-could-be-lame/#comment-442 Zoey Diaz Mon, 26 Jul 2010 15:28:03 +0000 http://blog.fortiusone.com/?p=449#comment-442 monetizing a website is really a great way to earn money in a passive way just like real estate.'*- monetizing a website is really a great way to earn money in a passive way just like real estate.’*-

]]> By: aark http://blog.geoiq.com/2008/07/10/collective-stupidity-the-negative-externalities-of-crowds-and-why-hperlocal-could-be-lame/#comment-441 aark Thu, 10 Jul 2008 20:39:53 +0000 http://blog.fortiusone.com/?p=449#comment-441 my daily 110 mile round commute on I-95 has taught me one thing: learning queueing theory aka "car following theory" from traffic flow may be a necessary condition, however its not sufficient to _unlearn_ the other easily learnt theories such as "queue jumping"/"frequent lane changing"/"tailgating" that are also part of crowd wisdom/collective wisdom. When faced with congested traffic they surface like Pavlovian instincts, adding to the chaotic stop-and-go march towards tragedy of -traffic- commons. As an aside, it may be interesting to study whether Web 2.0's crowd wisdom/collective intelligence shows instinctive behavior. May be someone has already done this, because identifying such traits could help quite a bit in monetizing the web. my daily 110 mile round commute on I-95 has taught me one thing: learning queueing theory aka “car following theory” from traffic flow may be a necessary condition, however its not sufficient to _unlearn_ the other easily learnt theories such as “queue jumping”/”frequent lane changing”/”tailgating” that are also part of crowd wisdom/collective wisdom. When faced with congested traffic they surface like Pavlovian instincts, adding to the chaotic stop-and-go march towards tragedy of -traffic- commons.

As an aside, it may be interesting to study whether Web 2.0′s crowd wisdom/collective intelligence shows instinctive behavior. May be someone has already done this, because identifying such traits could help quite a bit in monetizing the web.

]]> By: Terry http://blog.geoiq.com/2008/07/10/collective-stupidity-the-negative-externalities-of-crowds-and-why-hperlocal-could-be-lame/#comment-440 Terry Thu, 10 Jul 2008 19:13:39 +0000 http://blog.fortiusone.com/?p=449#comment-440 "A person is smart. People are dumb, panicky dangerous animals and you know it." - 'K', in Men In Black - “A person is smart. People are dumb, panicky dangerous animals and you know it.”

– ‘K’, in Men In Black -

]]> By: Sean Gorman http://blog.geoiq.com/2008/07/10/collective-stupidity-the-negative-externalities-of-crowds-and-why-hperlocal-could-be-lame/#comment-439 Sean Gorman Thu, 10 Jul 2008 15:15:44 +0000 http://blog.fortiusone.com/?p=449#comment-439 Yes - I think they should require all drivers education to include a course on queuing theory ;-) "You mean I won't get there faster by accelerating to six inches off the bumper of the car in front of me and flashing my lights?" Yes – I think they should require all drivers education to include a course on queuing theory ;-) “You mean I won’t get there faster by accelerating to six inches off the bumper of the car in front of me and flashing my lights?”

]]> By: Andrew Larcombe http://blog.geoiq.com/2008/07/10/collective-stupidity-the-negative-externalities-of-crowds-and-why-hperlocal-could-be-lame/#comment-438 Andrew Larcombe Thu, 10 Jul 2008 12:14:22 +0000 http://blog.fortiusone.com/?p=449#comment-438 The M25 motorway which circles London was getting regularly congested. The elite said 'We're going to enforce a variable speed limit - slower when it's busier, faster when it's more clear'. Their was public outcry - 'make it *slower* when congested?' Unbelievable. Of course, what the experts knew and had spent time modelling was diametrically opposed to the common-sense view - the slower you drive the smaller distance you need to allow between yourself and the car in front. This leads to a higher throughput of cars, and less congestion. The M25 motorway which circles London was getting regularly congested. The elite said ‘We’re going to enforce a variable speed limit – slower when it’s busier, faster when it’s more clear’. Their was public outcry – ‘make it *slower* when congested?’ Unbelievable.

Of course, what the experts knew and had spent time modelling was diametrically opposed to the common-sense view – the slower you drive the smaller distance you need to allow between yourself and the car in front. This leads to a higher throughput of cars, and less congestion.

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