“A certain large collective wisdom resides in a crowd, as such; and men whose individual judgement is defective are excellent judges when grouped together.”
Letter 17, 10.
Letters, Book VII
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Pliny the Younger50
Roman writer 61–113Related quotes
Immanuel Kant (1724–1804) German philosopher
Introduction
Idea for a Universal History from a Cosmopolitan Point of View (1784)
Context: Since men in their endeavors behave, on the whole, not just instinctively, like the brutes, nor yet like rational citizens of the world according to some agreed-on plan, no history of man conceived according to a plan seems to be possible, as it might be possible to have such a history of bees or beavers. One cannot suppress a certain indignation when one sees men’s actions on the great world-stage and finds, beside the wisdom that appears here and there among individuals, everything in the large woven together from folly, childish vanity, even from childish malice and destructiveness. In the end, one does not know what to think of the human race, so conceited in its gifts.
Louis Agassiz (1807–1873) Swiss naturalist
Methods of Study in Natural History (1863), ch. 1, p. 7 https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015065771407;view=1up;seq=21
Walt Disney (1901–1966) American film producer and businessman
Unsourced variant: Leadership implies a strong faith or belief in something. It may be a cause, an institution, a political or business operation in which a man takes active direction by virtue of his faith and self-assurance. And, of course, leadership means a group, large or small, which is willing to entrust such authority to a man — or a woman — in judgment, wisdom, personal appeal and proven competence.
Source: How to Be Like Walt : Capturing the Magic Every Day of Your Life (2004), Ch. 4 : Animated Leadership, p. 102
Nicolas Schöffer (1912–1992) French sculptor and plastician
Source: Douglas Davis, “Nicolas Schöffer: The Cybernetic Esthetic,” in Art and the Future: A History/Prophecy of the Collaboration Science, Technology and Art. New York: Praeger, 1973, pages 121–122; cited in: Hervé Vanel. " Visual Muzak and the Regulation of the Senses. Notes on Nicolas Schöffer https://www.academia.edu/11283475/_Visual_Muzak_and_the_Regulation_of_the_Senses_Notes_on_Nicolas_Sch%C3%B6ffer_in_Audio_Visual_-_On_Visual_Music_and_Related_Media_Cornelia_Lund_Holger_Lund_eds._Arnoldsche_Verlagsanstalt_Stuttgart_p._58-75_July_2009._galley_proof_." July 2009.
“Democracy is a pathetic belief in the collective wisdom of individual ignorance.”
H.L. Mencken (1880–1956) American journalist and writer
Des MacHale, Wit, Andrews McMeel Publishing, Kansas City (KS), 2003, ISBN 978-0-7407-3330-7, page 197 https://books.google.ca/books?id=Dhlgd_Af1C4C&pg=PA197 <br class="br">Misattributed
Muhammad (570–632) Arabian religious leader and the founder of Islam
Narrated by Al-Bukhari and Muslim [citation needed]
Sunni Hadith
Howard Bloom (1943) American publicist and author
The Clint Eastwood Conundrum
The Lucifer Principle: A Scientific Expedition Into the Forces of History (1997)