--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Collective wisdom, alas, is no adequate…" description: "\"Collective wisdom, alas, is no adequate substitute for the intelligence of individuals. Individuals who opposed received opinions have been the source ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/035/bertrand-russell-69_adequate_collective-wisdom-alas-is-no-adequate-su_1118197.jpg" --- # Collective wisdom, alas, is no adequate substitute for the… ![“Collective wisdom, alas, is no adequate substitute for the intelligence of individuals. Individuals who opposed received opinions have been the source of all progress, both moral and intellectual. They have been unpopular, as was natural.” quote by Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/035/bertrand-russell-69_adequate_collective-wisdom-alas-is-no-adequate-su_1118197.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/035/bertrand-russell-69_adequate_collective-wisdom-alas-is-no-adequate-su_1118197.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/035/bertrand-russell-69_adequate_collective-wisdom-alas-is-no-adequate-su_1118197.jpg) > “Collective wisdom, alas, is no adequate substitute for the intelligence of individuals. Individuals who opposed received opinions have been the source of all progress, both moral and intellectual. They have been unpopular, as was natural.” [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Collective wisdom cannot replace the insight of individuals; dissent drives progress. **In simple terms:** Individual insight fuels progress. Key Takeaway Value dissenting voices. Themes individualism progress wisdom dissent innovation Mood thoughtful critical Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - Policy making - academic research - creative industries Key Concepts Critical thinking social dynamics intellectual freedom Questions to Reflect On - When should we prioritize individual ideas? - How to balance collective and individual input? A Different Perspective Group consensus can overlook minority insights. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Collective wisdom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/collective-wisdom/) [Individual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/individual/) [Intellectual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intellectual/) [Intelligence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intelligence/) [Moral](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moral/) [Opinion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/opinion/) [Progress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/progress/) [Wisdom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wisdom/) ## Related quotes > [Civilization is to groups what intelligence is to individuals. It is a means of combining the intelligence of many to achieve ongoing group adaptation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavia-butler/civilization-is-to-groups-what-intelligence-is-to-individuals-it-is-a/) [Octavia Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavia-butler/) > [The secret of literature, which conventional people don't guess, is that writers are forever looking for the surprising revelation - not for reinforcement of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-bly/the-secret-of-literature-which-conventional-people-don-t-guess-is/) [Carol Bly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-bly/) > [Nothing is more senseless than to base so many expectations on the state, that is, to assume the existence of collective wisdom and foresight…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederic-bastiat/nothing-is-more-senseless-than-to-base-so-many-expectations-on-the/) [Frederic Bastiat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-bastiat/) > [I think small groups have more collective wisdom than an individual.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-schiff/i-think-small-groups-have-more-collective-wisdom-than-an-individual/) [Lewis Schiff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-schiff/) > [I also believe that at a critical point (more than six people?), that collective wisdom turns into group think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-schiff/i-also-believe-that-at-a-critical-point-more-than-six-people-that/) [Lewis Schiff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-schiff/) > [Libraries have always been humanities' way of preserving its collective wisdom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umberto-eco/libraries-have-always-been-humanities-way-of-preserving-its/) [Umberto Eco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umberto-eco/) > [The anchor of all my dreams is the collective wisdom of mankind as a whole.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nelson-mandela/the-anchor-of-all-my-dreams-is-the-collective-wisdom-of-mankind-as-a/) [Nelson Mandela](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nelson-mandela/) > [There is no nonsense so errant that it cannot be made the creed of the vast majority by adequate governmental action.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/there-is-no-nonsense-so-errant-that-it-cannot-be-made-the-creed-of/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [One of the main causes of trouble in the world is dogmatic and fanatical belief in some doctrine for which there is no adequate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/one-of-the-main-causes-of-trouble-in-the-world-is-dogmatic-and/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [Cruelty is, in theory, a perfectly adequate ground for divorce, but it may be interpreted so as to become absurd.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/cruelty-is-in-theory-a-perfectly-adequate-ground-for-divorce-but-it/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [Democracy's premise rests on the notion that the collective wisdom of the majority will prove right more often than it's wrong; that given sufficient…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-fountain/democracy-s-premise-rests-on-the-notion-that-the-collective-wisdom-of/) [Ben Fountain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-fountain/) > [“Democracies, as we know, are prone to every error from incompetence and corruption to misguided fetishes and gridlock. Therefore, it is astonishing, in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-k-albright/democracies-as-we-know-are-prone-to-every-error-from-incompetence-and/) Madeleine K. Albright > [Democracy is a pathetic belief in the collective wisdom of individual ignorance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/democracy-is-a-pathetic-belief-in-the-collective-wisdom-of-individual/) [H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/) > [I do not believe in the collective wisdom of individual ignorance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/i-do-not-believe-in-the-collective-wisdom-of-individual-ignorance/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [I'm really lucky to have colleagues in the White House press corps who are both amazing mothers and amazing journalists. Their collective wisdom has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hallie-jackson/i-m-really-lucky-to-have-colleagues-in-the-white-house-press-corps/) [Hallie Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hallie-jackson/) ## More by Bertrand Russell > [ If the State does not acquire supremacy over \[vast private\] enterprises, it becomes their puppet, and they become the real State. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/if-the-state-does-not-acquire-supremacy-over-vast-private-enterprises/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [That the world is in a bad shape is undeniable, but there is not the faintest reason in history to suppose that Christianity offers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/that-the-world-is-in-a-bad-shape-is-undeniable-but-there-is-not-the/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [All movements go too far.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/all-movements-go-too-far/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [Those who advocate common usage in philosophy sometimes speak in a manner that suggests the mystique of the 'common man.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/those-who-advocate-common-usage-in-philosophy-sometimes-speak-in-a/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [“Such, in outline, but even more purposeless, more void of meaning, is the world which Science presents for our belief. 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