The Difference: How the Power of Diversity Creates Better Groups, Firms, Schools, and SocietiesPrinceton University Press, 2007 - 424 pages In this landmark book, Scott Page redefines the way we understand ourselves in relation to one another. The Difference is about how we think in groups--and how our collective wisdom exceeds the sum of its parts. Why can teams of people find better solutions than brilliant individuals working alone? And why are the best group decisions and predictions those that draw upon the very qualities that make each of us unique? The answers lie in diversity--not what we look like outside, but what we look like within, our distinct tools and abilities. The Difference reveals that progress and innovation may depend less on lone thinkers with enormous IQs than on diverse people working together and capitalizing on their individuality. Page shows how groups that display a range of perspectives outperform groups of like-minded experts. Diversity yields superior outcomes, and Page proves it using his own cutting-edge research. Moving beyond the politics that cloud standard debates about diversity, he explains why difference beats out homogeneity, whether you're talking about citizens in a democracy or scientists in the laboratory. He examines practical ways to apply diversity's logic to a host of problems, and along the way offers fascinating and surprising examples, from the redesign of the Chicago "El" to the truth about where we store our ketchup. Page changes the way we understand diversity--how to harness its untapped potential, how to understand and avoid its traps, and how we can leverage our differences for the benefit of all. |
From inside the book
Results 1-5 of 71
... average those placards are correct . But why are they correct ? That is what I unpack . In what follows I nourish these diverse readings . When possible , I point out the linkages to smart mobs , to wise crowds , to identity diversity ...
... average , sixty supply ships a month . Many of the people brought to Bletchley Park — Brits , Ameri- cans , Poles , Aussies — had training we might think appropriate for code breaking . These included mathematicians ( most notably Alan ...
... average prediction of a member of the crowd . I call these the Diversity Prediction Theorem and the Crowds Beat Averages Law . The first result implies that we should not think of predictive ability as of paramount importance and ...
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Contents
Diverse Perspectives How We See Things | 23 |
Heuristics Do the Opposite | 52 |
Interpretations Our Own Private Flatland | 73 |
Predictive Models Judging Books by Their Covers | 90 |
Measuring Sticks and Toolboxes Calipers for the Brain | 103 |
DIVERSITYS BENEFITS BUILDING FROM TOOLS | 129 |
Diversity and Problem Solving Darwins Brass Tacks | 131 |
Models of Information Aggregation Mindless Signals | 175 |
Preference Aggregation Four Not So Depressing Results | 255 |
Interacting Toolboxes and Preferences Go Ask Alice | 285 |
THE PUDDING DOES DIVERSITY GENERATE BENEFITS? | 297 |
The Causes of Cognitive Diversity Family Vacations College or Identity? | 299 |
The Empirical Evidence The Pudding | 313 |
GOING ON THE OFFENSIVE | 337 |
A Fertile Logic Putting Ideas to Work | 339 |
The Ketchup Questions | 371 |
Other editions - View all
The Difference: How the Power of Diversity Creates Better Groups, Firms ... Scott E. Page Limited preview - 2008 |
The Difference: How the Power of Diversity Creates Better Groups, Firms ... Scott E. Page No preview available - 2008 |