An essential primer on an important new discipline.
How thought happens on a large scale.
Why do some organizations seem so much smarter than others? Can people think together successfully in groups? How can technology help? In this brilliant, somewhat heady, but generally accessible book, Mulgan (The Locust and the Bee: Predators and Creators in Capitalism’s Future, 2015, etc.), chief executive of Nesta, Britain’s National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts, shows how the answers can be found in the emerging field of collective intelligence, which links people and machines to foster “dramatic jumps” in group intelligence. The smarter outcome does not happen automatically; it must be carefully orchestrated. The tools for CI are expensive, found mainly in the military and finance and rarely in the health and environmental sectors. Were they widely available, writes the author, they could give us a “truly global intelligence” that “could solve global problems—from pandemics to climate threats, violence to poverty.” Drawing on such disciplines as social psychology, computer science, and economics, as well as his experiences as a co-founder of the think tank Demos, Mulgan outlines the elements of CI, which has informed collaborations from the Manhattan project and NASA’s moon landings to Google Maps and Wikipedia. His recounting of a well-known past attempt to organize collaborative thought on a large scale—the Oxford English Dictionary, which engaged a huge army of volunteers working according to strict rules—illustrates nicely how the orchestration and properties of a group “far exceed the capabilities of any one part.” The author examines the many elements of CI, making clear how computers have enhanced our capabilities, from observation to memory, and shows how they work in real-life settings like the economy, universities, and meetings of all kinds. “Environments that are stimulating, demanding, and engaging will tend to enhance intelligence,” he writes.
An essential primer on an important new discipline.Pub Date: Dec. 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-691-17079-4
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Princeton Univ.
Review Posted Online: Sept. 18, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2017
Stricter than, say, Bergen Evans or W3 ("disinterested" means impartial — period), Strunk is in the last analysis...
Privately published by Strunk of Cornell in 1918 and revised by his student E. B. White in 1959, that "little book" is back again with more White updatings.
Stricter than, say, Bergen Evans or W3 ("disinterested" means impartial — period), Strunk is in the last analysis (whoops — "A bankrupt expression") a unique guide (which means "without like or equal").Pub Date: May 15, 1972
ISBN: 0205632645
Page Count: 105
Publisher: Macmillan
Review Posted Online: Oct. 28, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 1972
This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)
Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996
ISBN: 0-15-100227-4
Page Count: 136
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996
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