This letter is associated with the following article:
Letters
Wednesday, November 7, 2007 12:00 AM

The Internet is making us stupid

Legal sage Cass Sunstein says democracy is the first casualty of political discourse in the digital age.
By Ben Van Heuvelen

Read other letters about this article

  • Wednesday, November 7, 2007 07:22 AM

    The Wisdom of Crowds

    Thanks, Ben, for a very interesting interview. Cass' argument reminds me of James Surowiecki's "The Wisdom of Crowds." In this book, Surowiecki argues that group decisions can be more "intelligent" in some cases contrary to the popular notion of "mob mentality" or "group think."

    Central to Surowiecki's argument, however, is that the right conditions must occur for crowd wisdom to be effective. This environment is basically an environment that encourages and respects different ideas and also has a method for aggregating knowledge.

    Hmm. Kind of sounds like the ideas behind Democracy, doesn't it?

    —akadjian Read akadjian's other letters

    Flag
Read other letters about this article

Most Active Letters Threads

490

The crazy, irrational beliefs of Muslims

Tom Friedman explains the real problem: stupid Muslims think the U.S. is about war and aggression.
Glenn Greenwald Read article
426

A key British official reminds us of the forgotten anthrax attack

A vast array of establishment and expert sources do not believe this episode was really resolved.
Glenn Greenwald Read article
227

The face of rotted Washington

Evan Bayh demands more debt-financed war - fought by others - while boasting that he's a stern "deficit hawk."
Glenn Greenwald Read article
210

Is Obama's civil liberties record understandable?

Was it unreasonable to expect him to adhere to his commitments regarding the Constitution?
Glenn Greenwald Read article
111

How dare you criticize wasteful defense spending!

So you think it's only terrorist-appeasing lefties who are down on Pentagon profligacy? Think again
By David Sirota Read article

View all »

Letters Help

Currently in Salon