There has been a recent surge in the number of books written on collective creativity or intelligence, the most popular probably being 'The Wisdom of Crowds'. It seems to me that there is a relationship between this idea of crowd wisdom (and its converse, crowd stupidity), and that of 'entertainment'. A crowd that is 'entertained' is, almost by definition, collectivised into a homogeneous, conforming entity, and is therefore unlikely to be capable of complex intelligent behaviour.
Yes, this idea that there is validity in non-expert arrogate opinion is fascinating. And "The Wisdom of Crowds" was interesting and baffling when I read it a year ago. Wise and stupid crowds...I'd never thought of it in these terms before.
2bsirius 3 years ago
Reminds me of something similar I've thought about recently after watching riot footage. That violence is easy to resort to and incredibly stimulating, whereas stopping to think non-violently is more productive and logical, but far less stimulating, not to mention entertaining. I can feel myself ignite with emotion watching a riot but I probably wouldn't be as interested to watch protesters solving their problems intelligently. Makes you wonder how something can feel right but be wrong.
grit123 3 years ago