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captain normal writes:
An essay by Robert W.Lucky in IEEE Spectrum, 'Who is the Crowd?', discusses how the internet has provided the means for many people to contribute to knowledge.
From the essay:
I look at my computer screen and imagine all the murmuring voices behind it, clamoring for attention. There is almost a mystical presence out there, not from aliens but from something almost as thrilling and unexpected--a new presence that has been brought about as a consequence of the enveloping architecture of the Internet.
...
The crowd has wisdom, knowing things that may not be known to individuals. It has sentiments, beliefs, and feelings that can be abstracted and analyzed. Moreover, it has the power to affect the real physical world...Small armies of volunteers and paid contributors can be assembled on a moment's notice to work on projects.
I find this very much like this current project here on SoylentNews. This is a 'Crowd' thing. Not a top down organization like the old 19th ~ 20th century organization model."
(Score: 5, Insightful) by fliptop on Thursday February 20 2014, @03:28PM
"A person is smart. People are dumb, panicky dangerous animals and you know it." - Agent K
If you have second thoughts about booking a trip to an Indian casino, is it a reservation reservation reservation?
(Score: 1) by mcgrew on Thursday February 20 2014, @03:53PM
Damned W7, glad I retire next week. No "post" button, only "reply". So here is what I was going to post. Quoth TFS:
I look at my computer screen and imagine all the murmuring voices behind it, clamoring for attention. There is almost a mystical presence out there, not from aliens but from something almost as thrilling and unexpected
I see all sorts of aliens! Europeans, Canadians, Australians, even some other aliens from other alien cultures who speak English as a second language.
I saw a two headed alien last week. It was a pregnant Mexican (the second head was in her womb).
Free Nobots! [mcgrewbooks.com]
(Score: 3, Interesting) by BsAtHome on Thursday February 20 2014, @04:25PM
Not to hop on the whoosh here, but there is actually something serious that can be said about the topic.
I think you need to differentiate "people" a bit. A small crowd of very few (often 8 or fewer), which is "people", can be very smart and is able to self-organize pretty well, as long as there are no alpha fights. Once the crowd grows then suddenly swarm mechanics tend to take over and then "people" are indeed "dumb, panicky dangerous animals".
(Score: 2, Interesting) by fliptop on Thursday February 20 2014, @05:19PM
I'm reminded of the scene in "Dead Poet's Society" where Robin Williams's character has a few boys "just walk." After a few seconds of ambling around aimlessly, they suddenly coordinate themselves until they're marching around in unison, much to the delight of the cheering and clapping onlookers.
The crowd's tendency to do this is what you may refer to as "self-organizing" but to me it's the beginning of mob rules. There aren't enough non-conformists out there to question whether it's the right thing to do, imho.
If you have second thoughts about booking a trip to an Indian casino, is it a reservation reservation reservation?