Paradoxically, the best way for a group to be smart is for each person in it to think and act as independently… — James Surowiecki Copy Share Image
I think people don't understand compound interest because typically no one ever explains it to them and the level of financial literacy… — James Surowiecki Copy Share Image
When Americans think of college these days, the first word that often comes to mind is 'debt.' And from 'debt' it's just… — James Surowiecki Copy Share Image
You might think of consumption as a fairly passive activity, but buying new products and services is actually pretty risky, at least… — James Surowiecki Copy Share Image
Framing effects can be very influential, and to the degree that you can think of a task as close rather than distant,… — James Surowiecki Copy Share Image
I do think to some extent multitasking is a way of fooling ourselves that we're being exceptionally efficient. — James Surowiecki Copy Share Image
I think there is clearly a connection between free time and procrastination. The more you have of the former, all things being… — James Surowiecki Copy Share Image
I started in business journalism from the outside, so when I started writing about markets and business, I was struck by the… — James Surowiecki Copy Share Image
There are lots of people who believe there may be at least some genetic component to procrastination, and even if there isn't,… — James Surowiecki Copy Share Image
I tend to have a hard time working on pieces long before they're due. That's why I think the fact that I… — James Surowiecki Copy Share Image
It may be that the very qualities that help people get ahead are the ones that make them ill-suited for managing crises.… — James Surowiecki Copy Share Image
I typically don't adopt the ascetic approach. In part, that's because I do use the Net for research even as I'm writing… — James Surowiecki Copy Share Image
Of course, plenty of people don't think that guaranteeing affordable health insurance is a core responsibility of government. — James Surowiecki Copy Share Image
For a crowd to be smart, the people in it need to be not only diverse in their perspectives but also, relatively… — James Surowiecki Copy Share Image
Critics of consumer capitalism like to think that consumers are manipulated and controlled by those who seek to sell them things, but… — James Surowiecki Copy Share Image
I do think that procrastination evolved in humans for good reasons. If you're trying to stay alive as a human being on… — James Surowiecki Copy Share Image
The essence of procrastination lies in not doing what you think you should be doing, a mental contortion that surely accounts for… — James Surowiecki Copy Share Image
Diversity and independence are important because the best collective decisions are the product of disagreement and contest, not consensus or compromising. An… — James Surowiecki Copy Share Image
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… — James Surowiecki Copy Share Image
Downsizing itself is an inevitable part of any creatively destructive economy. — James Surowiecki Copy Share Image
In the business world, bad news is usually good news - for somebody else. — James Surowiecki Copy Share Image
You might think of consumption as a fairly passive activity, but buying new products and services is actually pretty risky, at least if you… — James Surowiecki Copy Share Image
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… — James Surowiecki Copy Share Image
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… — James Surowiecki Copy Share Image
If you thought the advent of the Internet, the spread of cheap and efficient information technology, and the growing fragmentation of the consumer market… — James Surowiecki Copy Share Image
The financial crisis of 2008 was not caused by investment banks betting against the housing market in 2007. It was caused by the fact… — James Surowiecki Copy Share Image
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… — James Surowiecki Copy Share Image
What corporations fear is the phenomenon now known, rather inelegantly, as 'commoditization.' What the term means is simply the conversion of the market for… — James Surowiecki Copy Share Image
Making loans and fighting poverty are normally two of the least glamorous pursuits around, but put the two together and you have an economic… — James Surowiecki Copy Share Image
