Scratchpad

Scratchpad

A blog, of sorts, intended as a place to experiment, struggle, question, and play with whatever research I am currently working on. The themes will thus change over time as my projects change, and the entries may be quotations that strike my fancy, attempts to puzzle through hairy problems, notes on sources, experiments, musings, dead ends, odd angles of looking at things. It is a voice to my frustrations, discoveries, curiosities, and confusions. It is thinking out loud. ...More subscribe to this blog

Balancing independence and community

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18 Feb 2009

Decisions, Decisions: What people can learn from how social animals make collective decisions, Economist, Feb 13, 2009.

Decisions are best made when multiple viewpoints are provided and individuals follow up independently to verify claims.

See "jury theorem" of Nicolas de Condorcet
Christian List, London School of Economics (bee behavior)
José Halloy, Free University of Brussels (cockroach behavior)
Nigel Franks, University of Bristol (ant behavior)