The Wisdom Of Crowds

Last night I took a rare glimpse at the propaganda unit in my living room. It is something I rarely switch on these days, as I prefer to get my news from alternative sources. For entertainment I spend a small fortune on DVDs and watch them when the urge takes me.

I wanted to see how Derren Brown had managed to accurately predict six numbers in the national lottery, and I was fascinated by a phrase he used during the show. It was "The wisdom of crowds" that caught my attention and I wanted to learn more. If you click on the title you will see what Wikipedia has to say about it. Personally I would rename it Pikipedia as not all entries contain sufficient balance for my liking. Take a peek at their very one-sided view of second hand smoke as an example.

Anyhoo, I wanted to know if there was anything in this theory and I have been mulling it over for the last sixteen hours or so.

If there is wisdom in crowds, I want to know where it is. I have seen precious little wisdom from crowds, or individuals, come to that, in the last 10 or 15 years. We appear, in our millions, to be getting stupider.

Why else would we allow Labour politicians to keep their jobs despite widespread abuse of their office?

Why else would we allow ever more unsupportable methods of control to be exerted over us?

Why do we stand by while various sections of society are curtailed, discriminated against, and vilified?

Why else would we stand by and allow these lawmakers to vomit out statute after statute that have no apparent bearing on our lives?

Why else would we watch as these people hand over our nation to the EU, to be controlled by unelected busybodies?

I think, and you may correct me, it's because we don't give a shit.

If we don't drink, and there are a significant number of people that don't, why should we care about alcohol control measures that treat adults like infants?

If we don't smoke, why should we give a damn when smokers are hounded outside in all weathers?

If we don't care for fast food, why should be concerned about the treatment of those carrying a stone or two beyond the suggested weight for "normal" humans?

Maybe it's because while they, the ubiquitous they, are picking on another group into which we don't fit, they are leaving us alone. And that's okay. If we keep our heads down, maybe they will pass us by?

Except that they won't. There will be a delay, for sure, but eventually, they will run out of abnormal targets and come for the normal.

So where is the "crowd wisdom"? Where is the refusal to be nannied? Where is the outrage at the ever increasing control mechanisms we endure, day after day?

It seems to me that the overwhelming majority know, deep down, that something is rotten, yet do nothing.They do nothing because it isn't happening to them. It also, vicariously, allows them to despise their fellow countrymen. They certainly aren't allowed to despise others not of their ethnic persuasion, or those who choose an alternative sexual orientation.

But smokers, drinkers, fatties, and yes, even those who choose to support political parties like the BNP, are vilified openly, and worse, with the encouragement of this government that have done their utmost to destroy Britain. I'd like to say that their destruction has been accidental but I can find no evidence to support that explanation. No party can be that inept, surely? It had to be engineered.

No, the only answer is that decisions are made using the Delphi Technique. (Look it up, it is as interesting as it is sinister). The basics are this: a group of "experts", or a "think-tank" sit around in a meeting room. They are asked their opinion on, say, a tax increase, and all opinions are gathered. Out of twenty people, 14 may say "Yep. Let's do it", and the other 6 are either unsure, or against the new tax. So they stay in the room until the 14 have convinced the 6 that they are wrong and that the new tax increase is the only right decision. It is a mixture of bullying and mind-control, and it is frightening, to me at least, to know that many major decisions are reached in this way. Using this technique, all 20 "experts" leave the room knowing they have made the right decision. The decision is promulgated and if necessary, the Delphi Technique is used on any dissenters that may creep out of the woodwork.

So, Wisdom of Crowds, or Delphi Technique? You decide.

It may be that I have picked up the wrong ball and ran the wrong way with it. I am sure you will let me know.

I do know that I see more evidence of the existence of the Delphi Technique than I do for the Wisdom of Crowds.

It strikes me that the average Brit is either very stupid, very insular, or very uncaring.

Or a combination of all three.

I hope, for all our sakes, that we shake off this lassitude, and very quickly.