This paper (27 page PDF) looks at alternative methods of obtaining a consensus from a group of people (aka 'the wisdom of crowds'). While it's true that a crowd can outperform an individual, the authors suggest that dividing the crowd into small groups of five, and having the five come to a consensus, can when averaged produce better results than average produced by the large crowd. This is the basis behind a lot of 'small group' methodologies, such as the world cafe. "This result supports political theories postulating that authentic deliberation, and not simply voting, can lead to better democratic decisions," the authors write.
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