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
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... Choosing a good advisor falls not too far behind on that list . Stan offered his usual wisdom and guidance in the writing of the research papers that were the basis for this book . As is true with the BACH group , where my ideas end and ...
... choose a new employee ( problem solving — what kind of scholar do we need ? —and prediction — can this person do good research ? ) . If we hope to reap diversity's benefits , we need this logical connection . We need to understand the ...
... choose our collections from must be large ; and ( 4 ) the collections of problem solvers must not be too small . I then consider predictive tasks . People might want to predict any number of outcomes : the price of a stock , the winner ...
... choose . Thus , collections of people with diverse preferences often prove better at problem solving than collections of people who agree . Difference of opinion not only makes a horse race , it also makes for effective , albeit ...
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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 |