---
title: "4 Being smart Quotes By James Surowiecki"
description: "4 Being smart quotes by James Surowiecki. Plus more from James Surowiecki and more Being smart sayings from other authors."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8a3/james-surowiecki-2196_being-smart_paradoxically-the-best-way-for-a-group-t_391125.png"
---

> [Paradoxically, the best way for a group to be smart is for each person in it to think and act as independently…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-surowiecki/paradoxically-the-best-way-for-a-group-to-be-smart-is-for-each-person/)

[James Surowiecki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-surowiecki/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8a3/james-surowiecki-2196_being-smart_paradoxically-the-best-way-for-a-group-t_391125.png)

> [For a crowd to be smart, the people in it need to be not only diverse in their perspectives but also, relatively…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-surowiecki/for-a-crowd-to-be-smart-the-people-in-it-need-to-be-not-only-diverse/)

[James Surowiecki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-surowiecki/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7ab/james-surowiecki-2196_being-smart_for-a-crowd-to-be-smart-the-people-in-it_785548.jpg)

> [The fact that cognitive diversity matters does not mean that if you assemble a group of diverse but thoroughly uninformed people, their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-surowiecki/the-fact-that-cognitive-diversity-matters-does-not-mean-that-if-you/)

[James Surowiecki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-surowiecki/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4cb/james-surowiecki-2196_being-smart_the-fact-that-cognitive-diversity-matter_1850454.jpg)

> [Diversity and independence are important because the best collective decisions are the product of disagreement and contest, not consensus or compromising. An…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-surowiecki/diversity-and-independence-are-important-because-the-best-collective-2/)

[James Surowiecki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-surowiecki/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/382/james-surowiecki-2196_asks_diversity-and-independence-are-important_2873366.jpg)

## Other authors on Being smart

- [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b007/author-danica-mckellar-26360.jpg) Danica McKellar 5 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/being-smart/danica-mckellar/)

## More by James Surowiecki

> [Lack of confidence, sometimes alternating with unrealistic dreams of heroic success, often leads to procrastination, and many studies suggest that procrastinators are self-handicappers: rather…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-surowiecki/lack-of-confidence-sometimes-alternating-with-unrealistic-dreams-of/)

[James Surowiecki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-surowiecki/)

> [Downsizing itself is an inevitable part of any creatively destructive economy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-surowiecki/downsizing-itself-is-an-inevitable-part-of-any-creatively-destructive/)

[James Surowiecki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-surowiecki/)

> [In the business world, bad news is usually good news - for somebody else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-surowiecki/in-the-business-world-bad-news-is-usually-good-news-for-somebody-else/)

[James Surowiecki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-surowiecki/)

> [You might think of consumption as a fairly passive activity, but buying new products and services is actually pretty risky, at least if you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-surowiecki/you-might-think-of-consumption-as-a-fairly-passive-activity-but/)

[James Surowiecki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-surowiecki/)

> [Corporations hope that the right concept will turn things around overnight. This is what you might call the crash-diet approach: starve yourself for a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-surowiecki/corporations-hope-that-the-right-concept-will-turn-things-around/)

[James Surowiecki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-surowiecki/)

> [Instead of mindlessly tossing billions at or taking billions from the Net as such, investors should be spending their time making sure that it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-surowiecki/instead-of-mindlessly-tossing-billions-at-or-taking-billions-from-the/)

[James Surowiecki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-surowiecki/)

> [If you thought the advent of the Internet, the spread of cheap and efficient information technology, and the growing fragmentation of the consumer market…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-surowiecki/if-you-thought-the-advent-of-the-internet-the-spread-of-cheap-and/)

[James Surowiecki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-surowiecki/)

> [There's no debt limit in the Constitution.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-surowiecki/there-s-no-debt-limit-in-the-constitution/)

[James Surowiecki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-surowiecki/)

> [The financial crisis of 2008 was not caused by investment banks betting against the housing market in 2007. It was caused by the fact…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-surowiecki/the-financial-crisis-of-2008-was-not-caused-by-investment-banks/)

[James Surowiecki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-surowiecki/)

> [A consumer-finance agency is a good thing, but it would do well to teach consumers a simple lesson: if you don't understand the deal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-surowiecki/a-consumer-finance-agency-is-a-good-thing-but-it-would-do-well-to/)

[James Surowiecki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-surowiecki/)

> [What corporations fear is the phenomenon now known, rather inelegantly, as 'commoditization.' What the term means is simply the conversion of the market for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-surowiecki/what-corporations-fear-is-the-phenomenon-now-known-rather-inelegantly/)

[James Surowiecki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-surowiecki/)

> [Making loans and fighting poverty are normally two of the least glamorous pursuits around, but put the two together and you have an economic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-surowiecki/making-loans-and-fighting-poverty-are-normally-two-of-the-least/)

[James Surowiecki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-surowiecki/)

> [Unfortunately, there is something of a flaw in this idealized picture of the way the scientific community discovers truth. And the flaw is that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-surowiecki/unfortunately-there-is-something-of-a-flaw-in-this-idealized-picture/)

[James Surowiecki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-surowiecki/)

> [Markets work best when there's lots of information available and a historical track record to go on; they excel at predicting things like horse…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-surowiecki/markets-work-best-when-there-s-lots-of-information-available-and-a/)

[James Surowiecki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-surowiecki/)

> [The profit motive, indecorous though it may seem, may represent the best chance the poor have to reap some of globalization's benefits.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-surowiecki/the-profit-motive-indecorous-though-it-may-seem-may-represent-the/)

[James Surowiecki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-surowiecki/)

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