Saturday, August 06, 2016

Crowds Are Stupid; Wisdom Is Solitary

Do you even get the feeling when you are online that in spite of Google's claims to order search results primarily according to quality, the good stuff is actually being concealed from you? If so, you will not be surprised to learn that unless you are running TOR and Tails, it is. Some critics of the way the web has been hijacked by a few technology corporations say as much as 96% of online content is inaccessible to Joe Ordinary and you (but not me, I had a long career in data networking; although I would not put the figure as high as 96% unless you use exclusively Google for search. 90% would probably be nearer.). 

A few years ago, tired of hearing that idiotic dictum of  Bill Gates (the man who made 'not fit for purpose' an acceptable quality rating,) and other Silicon valley mind manipulation artists about The Wisdom Of Crowds, I posted online an essay, Shakeaspeare's Proud Loner and The Widom Of Crowds to explore this wisdom of crowds phenomenon.
It's good to see more and more people are thinking on the same lines.  Even if this writer is discussing Democratic and Republican Party political philosophies, if you are patient enough to read the whole article (linked at the end of this extract) he comes to some interesting conclusions about groupthink, and how opinion is manipulated.

from Zero Hedge

Submitted by Robert Gore via StraightLineLogic.com,

Have you ever won or lost a political argument? Have you or an opponent ever said: “Your facts and logic are overpowering, I have to concede that you’re right.” It’s never happened, has it? It doesn’t happen because politics has little to do with facts and logic. It’s anchored in emotions that take root in infancy and are so deeply ingrained they are undoubtedly part of humanity’s evolutionary code. No bond is more enduring than that between parent and child, and none is more laden with psychological baggage. While political argument will always be a frustratingly fruitless endeavor, you can at least understand why this is so, and perhaps avoid wasting your time.

The first lesson infants learn, evolutionarily hardwired, is that mom provides. She supplies the physical basics, and psychological sustenance as well. She smiles and coos, delighted by almost everything her baby does. “Mom,” as in mom and the apple pies she cooks, has a sacred, unrivaled place in the human conscious and subconscious. Insulting someone’s mother is an invitation to a fight. Whether you realize or admit it or not, the person that bore, gave birth, and nurtured you through childhood has a outsize presence in your psyche.

“Branding” is a marketing buzzword, but one of some intellectual value in a field littered with useless emissions. If you’re trying to sell something, you want consumers to associate your product or service with a simple but psychologically powerful concept. Food companies and restaurant chains sell healthy and delicious, or tie eating into warm memories. Purveyors of athletic clothes and footwear link themselves with athletic excellence. The fat blob swilling beer on the couch gets winded going to the refrigerator, but wears Nike sweats. Cosmetic and fashion companies peddle hope to millions of women and men who will never look like the models who show off the merchandise. Insurance and home security companies sell fear.

Read all Crowds Are Stupid, Wisdom Is Solitary  >>





RELATED POSTS:
Creativity Must Triumph Over Conformity
BBC Uses Shakespeare Event To Push Politically Correct Agenda
With Our Hero Varoufakis Fallen On His Sword Who Will The EU Ledership Sacrifice
The Gods Of Copybook Headings
Eurocrats Are The New Bond Villains
Dr. Pangloss Said All Is For The Best
So You Think You're An Anarchist (Anarchy for Beginners - part 2)
Principled Agnosticism
Anarchy In The UK - and elsewhere.
Getting Started With Existentialism

The War Between Science and Religion
The Flight From Freedom
Liberal? What Does That Mean?
Populist Authoritarianism

Cicero Said: Know Who Your Real Enemies Are
The Self Righteous Minority That Threaten Free Speech
Statism has turned Detroit Into Ayn Rand's Starnesville
Google buys Nest for $3.2 billion: Does this home automation acquisition point to ‘the internet of things
Former McDonalds CEO Warns Minimum Wage "Will Wipe Out 1000s Of Jobs"
American's are have the right of free speech, so long as they don't criticise Obama
Did Billionaire Thiel Save Free Speech On The Web
Six-Figure Fines for failing to use the right transgender Gender Pronouns?
Sweden's War On Children's Books
Ignorance Is Strength: European Parliament Ready To clamp Down On Free Speech
There Is No Freedom Without Transparency
NSA Planning To Exploit 'Internet Of Things' Including Biomedical Devices
Silicon Valley's War On Free Speech: Google Plays Politics
World Domination Freak Bill Gates Appeals For World Government
Transhumanism - Elitist and Mad Scientist Collaboration To Turn Us Into Automatons.
Artificial Intelligence: Will It Kill Human Society?
Big Brother State": FBI Says Citizens Should Have No Secrets That The Government Can't Access
Virtual ID has arrived – why you should resist taking it up

Hollywood Celebrities Who Are Not Hillary Fans
Watch or read mainstream news or get your info from celebrity gossip websites and you could be forgiven for believing that all media / showbiz celebs in the USA are devoted fans of the rent - boy president, Barack Hussein Obama and his anointed successor Hillary Clinton. It is not so ...

Elsewhere: [ The Original Boggart Blog] ... [ Daily Stirre.shtml ]...[Little Nicky Machiavelli]... [ Ian's Authorsden Pages ]... [Scribd]...[Wikinut] ... [ Boggart Abroad] ... [ Grenteeth Bites ] ... [ Latest Posts ] [Ian Thorpe at Flickr ] ... [Latest Posts] ... [ Tumblr ] ... [Ian at Minds ] ... [ Authorsden blog ] ... [Daily Stirrer News Aggregator]

No comments: