Comments on: Conventional Wisdom of Crowds

By: Imaginary Numbers | Morpho Designs

Imaginary Numbers | Morpho Designs — Sun, 17 Apr 2011 12:01:51 +0000

[...] imagination is the embodiment of the power of dreaming up stuff. Breaking free of the conventional wisdom of his era, he was able to bring to life an impressive array of ideas and formulate many of them [...]

By: Mitchell Allen

Mitchell Allen — Sat, 26 Feb 2011 15:56:48 +0000

Pete, perhaps you are looking at a different definition for critical than I intend in this context. Here is a snippet from that link in the post:

“”Critical” as used in the expression “critical thinking” connotes the importance or centrality of the thinking to an issue, question or problem of concern. “Critical” in this context does not mean “disapproval” or “negative.””

In other words:

“purposeful reflective judgment concerning what to believe or what to do.”

Cheers,

Mitch

By: Pete @ Currency Exchange

Pete @ Currency Exchange — Fri, 25 Feb 2011 16:42:47 +0000

Hi,

Fair enough. The problem with thinking critically is that you end up finding fault in everything. It’s a useful tool but as a guiding principle can lead to great unhappiness.

Thanks!

Pete
Pete recently posted..BoE Minutes- Good News For People Planning To Transfer Money (dofollow)

By: Treadmills and Burgers | Morpho Designs

Treadmills and Burgers | Morpho Designs — Mon, 14 Feb 2011 17:14:54 +0000

[...] avoid conventional wisdom as much as humanly possible. In matters of healthy food, it’s nearly impossible to get a [...]

By: Baker’s Meme | Morpho Designs

Baker’s Meme | Morpho Designs — Sun, 12 Dec 2010 05:02:03 +0000

[...] See, I feel that we all come into this world the same damn way. So what goes so effing wrong that sweet babies would bash other sweet babies over the head with a magnum .357 teething rattle? Don’t give me that alpha male crap, either. There’s plenty of poop in the crib. You play in your shit, I’ll play in mine. What’s the problem? Nature vs. nurture? I don’t get that. Sounds like one of those “six of one, half a dozen of another” glib explanations for mass murderers and concert violinists. Whatever. Just stop hatin’, pick up a book and educate yourselves. However, don’t just believe any old thing you read. THINK!!!!! [...]

By: Who Do You Know? | Morpho Designs

Who Do You Know? | Morpho Designs — Sat, 20 Nov 2010 08:43:50 +0000

[...] even true. When it comes to getting information, we want reliable sources. Otherwise, we risk being outfoxed. Conversation, and the attendant exchange of information, is enhanced when you clearly understand [...]

By: Mitchell Allen

Mitchell Allen — Thu, 14 Oct 2010 06:04:05 +0000

Gail, I’m hoping that you do
My goal, when putting together the Information Overload series, was to present a balanced view of the topic and let people draw their own conclusions. I may not have done a good job with this post, as I am clearly biased against conventional wisdom.

You bring out a couple of good points that, in my bias, I never considered: first, that we might apply critical thinking skills to validate the commentary of a well-informed reviewer; second, that we can rationally dismiss a biased reviewer based on the pattern of reviews.

My own view on the matter was primarily focused on the fact that a small number of people are responsible for a large number of user-generated reviews – negating any value in using that site for a balanced review of a product or service.

Come on back and give us some insights into propaganda!

Cheers,

Mitch

By: Gail Gardner

Gail Gardner — Thu, 14 Oct 2010 01:15:36 +0000

Oh my. I’m not sure you really want me to open up the box of ideas this post lets loose.

I use product and business reviews all the time – especially longer ones and those that include both positive and negative points – because they give me insights into both what the reviewer thinks and the product or business itself.

When a reviewer has multiple reviews you can get an idea what kind of person they are and whether they tend towards only positive or only negative reviews.

I find reviews an excellent way to choose restaurants, Bed & Breakfasts, auto mechanics and many other goods and services especially when there are reviewers who are like myself.

What I find strange is that so many people seem unable to judge what kind of person someone is by what they write. It is so obvious to me.

When expertise overlaps and someone else has wisdom about subjects that I know well they are far more likely to be someone I listen to on subjects they specialize in that I am no expert on.

You probably don’t even want me to get started about the abundance of totally wrong “conventional wisdom” that is based upon decades or even centuries of disinformation, propaganda and conditioning.

As Mark Twain was credited as saying, “It ain’t so much what we know that gets us into trouble. It’s what we know that just ain’t so.”
Gail Gardner recently posted..How to Use TwitterFeed- Consistent Twitter Presence (dofollow)

By: Mitchell Allen

Mitchell Allen — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 11:53:51 +0000

Thanks, Ashok. I spent a lot of time trying to word this as objectively of possible. The truth is that I despair of ever seeing the day when people stop regurgitating sound-bites as if they were truths.

I appreciate the promotion!

Cheers,

Mitch

By: ashok

ashok — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 23:03:50 +0000

Lots of good stuff in this post! The summary of the British Journal of Medicine’s debunked myths is good enough for a stumble, but the discussions of “motivated reasoning” and the “wisdom of crowds (which may not really be crowds even)” are excellent.

Putting it on Stumbleupon, delicious.
ashok recently posted..Emily Dickinson- “It is an honorable Thought” 946 (dofollow)