--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There is, of course, great value in…" description: "\"There is, of course, great value in belonging to a group. Safety in numbers, for one. But there is also a mathematical explanation for why the brain is..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/839/gregory-berns-17026_belonging_there-is-of-course-great-value-in-belong_1857402.png" --- # There is, of course, great value in belonging to a group… ![“There is, of course, great value in belonging to a group. Safety in numbers, for one. But there is also a mathematical explanation for why the brain is so willing to give up its own opinions: a group of people is more likely to be correct about something than an individual.” quote by Gregory Berns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/839/gregory-berns-17026_belonging_there-is-of-course-great-value-in-belong_1857402.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/839/gregory-berns-17026_belonging_there-is-of-course-great-value-in-belong_1857402.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/839/gregory-berns-17026_belonging_there-is-of-course-great-value-in-belong_1857402.png) > “There is, of course, great value in belonging to a group. Safety in numbers, for one. But there is also a mathematical explanation for why the brain is so willing to give up its own opinions: a group of people is more likely to be correct about something than an individual.” [Gregory Berns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-berns/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Group consensus often outperforms individual judgment due to collective intelligence. **In simple terms:** Groups are usually more correct than one person. Key Takeaway Trust collective insight when appropriate. Themes group dynamics decision making collective intelligence Mood analytical cautious Type informative philosophical When to use this quote - team projects - peer review - public policy voting Key Concepts Social psychology probability theory Questions to Reflect On - When should you rely on a group’s opinion? - How to guard against groupthink? A Different Perspective Groups can suffer from conformity pressure or misinformation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Belonging](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/belonging/) [Brain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brain/) [Giving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving/) [Giving up](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving-up/) [Individual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/individual/) [Opinion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/opinion/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Safety](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/safety/) [Values](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/values/) ## Related quotes > [THE POWER OF THE GROUP We all want to feel a sense of belonging. This isn’t a character flaw. It’s fundamental to the human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosalind-wiseman/the-power-of-the-group-we-all-want-to-feel-a-sense-of-belonging-this/) [Rosalind Wiseman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rosalind-wiseman/) > [We all construct worldviews that give us a sense of meaning. Mostly it is about belonging to a group and having a sense of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carmen-lawrence/we-all-construct-worldviews-that-give-us-a-sense-of-meaning-mostly-it/) Carmen Lawrence > [Belonging to a group can provide the child with a variety of resources that an individual friendship often cannot--a sense of collective participation, experience…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zick-rubin/belonging-to-a-group-can-provide-the-child-with-a-variety-of/) [Zick Rubin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zick-rubin/) > [I had friends at school, but I was never part of a gang and I dreamed of that sense of belonging to a group.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-mortimer/i-had-friends-at-school-but-i-was-never-part-of-a-gang-and-i-dreamed/) [Emily Mortimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-mortimer/) > [If we attach more importance to what other people believe than to what we know to be true - if we value belonging over…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-branden/if-we-attach-more-importance-to-what-other-people-believe-than-to/) [Nathaniel Branden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-branden/) > [A hallmark of a healthy creative culture is that its people feel free to share ideas, opinions, and criticisms. Our decision-making is better when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-catmull/a-hallmark-of-a-healthy-creative-culture-is-that-its-people-feel-free-2/) [Edwin Catmull](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-catmull/) > [“Throw a bunch of people with roughly similar opinions into a group to hash them out, and the opinions will become more similar to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/throw-a-bunch-of-people-with-roughly-similar-opinions-into-a-group-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Most people cannot stand being alone for long. They are always seeking groups to belong to, and if one group dissolves, they look for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/most-people-cannot-stand-being-alone-for-long-they-are-always-seeking/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [ Something in me was always watching life from the outside, permanently obsessed with the notion of belonging vs. not-belonging \[to a group\]. It did… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/something-in-me-was-always-watching-life-from-the-outside-permanently/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) ## More by Gregory Berns > [“In answer to the question “What are dogs thinking?” the grand conclusion was this: they’re thinking about what we’re thinking.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-berns/in-answer-to-the-question-what-are-dogs-thinking-the-grand-conclusion/) [Gregory Berns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-berns/) > [“But can you really trust someone who doesn’t have a pet?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-berns/but-can-you-really-trust-someone-who-doesn-t-have-a-pet/) [Gregory Berns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-berns/) > [“Interpreting dog behavior through the lens of wolf behavior is even worse than anthropomorphizing: it’s a human anthropomorphizing wolf behavior and using that flawed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-berns/interpreting-dog-behavior-through-the-lens-of-wolf-behavior-is-even/) [Gregory Berns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-berns/) > [“Did you guys hear there was a dog on the SEAL team?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-berns/did-you-guys-hear-there-was-a-dog-on-the-seal-team/) [Gregory Berns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-berns/) > [“Skinner box, a device that automatically trains rats or pigeons to learn behaviors.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-berns/skinner-box-a-device-that-automatically-trains-rats-or-pigeons-to/) [Gregory Berns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-berns/) > [“Lorenz, however, believed that the ideal canine companion was a “resonance dog.” He noted the extraordinary parallelism in personality between many dogs and their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-berns/lorenz-however-believed-that-the-ideal-canine-companion-was-a/) [Gregory Berns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-berns/) > [“The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animal,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-berns/the-expression-of-the-emotions-in-man-and-animal/) [Gregory Berns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-berns/) > [“stress is lowest in the morning and rises steadily throughout the day. But the presence of dogs kept self-reported stress at their morning levels…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-berns/stress-is-lowest-in-the-morning-and-rises-steadily-throughout-the-day/) [Gregory Berns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-berns/) > [“The defining trait of dogs, therefore, is their interspecies social intelligence, an ability to intuit what humans and other animals are thinking. Wolves do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-berns/the-defining-trait-of-dogs-therefore-is-their-interspecies-social/) [Gregory Berns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-berns/) > [“Do dogs have some concept of humans as something more than food dispensers? Simply knowing that human feelings toward dogs are reciprocated in some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-berns/do-dogs-have-some-concept-of-humans-as-something-more-than-food/) [Gregory Berns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-berns/) > [“We love dogs, but what do they think of us? Even with just two dogs, a picture was beginning to emerge. The pattern of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-berns/we-love-dogs-but-what-do-they-think-of-us-even-with-just-two-dogs-a/) [Gregory Berns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-berns/) > [“organ (VNO), thought to be specialized for detecting scents from other dogs and therefore to function in some capacity for social signaling”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-berns/organ-vno-thought-to-be-specialized-for-detecting-scents-from-other/) [Gregory Berns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-berns/) > [“Proof of social cognition means that dogs aren’t just Pavlovian learning machines. It means that dogs are sentient beings, and this has startling consequences…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-berns/proof-of-social-cognition-means-that-dogs-aren-t-just-pavlovian/) [Gregory Berns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-berns/) > [“The brevity of text messages, for example, and the fact that we are able to communicate with less than 140 characters at a time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-berns/the-brevity-of-text-messages-for-example-and-the-fact-that-we-are/) [Gregory Berns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-berns/) > [A person can have the greatest idea in the world - completely different and novel - but if that person can't convince enough other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-berns/a-person-can-have-the-greatest-idea-in-the-world-completely-different/) [Gregory Berns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-berns/) [Explore all 38 Gregory Berns quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-berns/) ## More Belonging quotes > [She might be without country, without nation, but inside her there was still a being that could exist and be free, that could simply…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-maas/she-might-be-without-country-without-nation-but-inside-her-there-was/) [Sharon Maas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-maas/) > [I always think the best way of motivating yourself is to put yourself in a situation where you feel like you're belonging to something.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-jackson/i-always-think-the-best-way-of-motivating-yourself-is-to-put-yourself/) [Colin Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-jackson/) > [It is a well-settled principle of the international code that where one nation owes another a liquidated debt which it refuses or neglects to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-jackson/it-is-a-well-settled-principle-of-the-international-code-that-where/) [Andrew Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-jackson/) > [The region belonging to the pure intellect is straitened: the imagination labours to extend its territories, to give it room. She sweeps across the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-macdonald/the-region-belonging-to-the-pure-intellect-is-straitened-the/) [George MacDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-macdonald/) > [I am convinced that human nature is basically affectionate and good. If our behavior follows our kind and loving nature, immense benefits will result,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/i-am-convinced-that-human-nature-is-basically-affectionate-and-good/) [Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/) > [“The reason “belonging” was so potent, so attractive, so much a part of the human yearning, was that it also meant safety, and loyalty.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-penny/the-reason-belonging-was-so-potent-so-attractive-so-much-a-part-of/) [Louise Penny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-penny/) > [If some student belonging to weaker section of society suffers distress, humanity says it must be addressed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arun-jaitley/if-some-student-belonging-to-weaker-section-of-society-suffers/) [Arun Jaitley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arun-jaitley/) > [Connection gives purpose and meaning to our lives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bren-brown/connection-gives-purpose-and-meaning-to-our-lives/) [Brené Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bren-brown/) > [My father was a man of great charity towards the poor, and compassion for the sick, and also for servants; so much so, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/my-father-was-a-man-of-great-charity-towards-the-poor-and-compassion/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Maybe the problem with the world is, that people are too quick to judge. And out of desperation, the loneliness creeps in like a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-limn/maybe-the-problem-with-the-world-is-that-people-are-too-quick-to/) [Jeremy Limn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-limn/) > [“It turns out to be the place of true belonging, and it's the bravest and most sacred place you'll stand.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bren-brown/it-turns-out-to-be-the-place-of-true-belonging-and-it-s-the-bravest/) [Brené Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bren-brown/) > [The hardest thing about being at Sony was not the travel; it was being divorced from the public and private life I had in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-stringer/the-hardest-thing-about-being-at-sony-was-not-the-travel-it-was-being/) [Howard Stringer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-stringer/) > [Whenever you are examining someone else's belongings, you are bound to learn many interesting things about the person of which you were not previously…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/whenever-you-are-examining-someone-else-s-belongings-you-are-bound-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“She isn't anybody's,' Rook said darkly. 'Son. she's not yours, either," Sarah Fleet said.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaida-jones/she-isn-t-anybody-s-rook-said-darkly-son-she-s-not-yours-either-sarah/) [Jaida Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaida-jones/) > [We have become this very fear-based culture, especially post-9/11. Fear is the opposite of love, in my opinion. I think there would be more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bren-brown/we-have-become-this-very-fear-based-culture-especially-post-9-11-fear/) [Brené Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bren-brown/) [Browse all 876 Belonging quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/belonging/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "There is, of course, great value in belonging to a group. Safety in numbers, for one. 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