ABSTRACT
It is easy to find counter-examples to Surowiecki’s theory, such as investment bubbles and popular scientific theories later disproven, and critics have wondered how these unwise crowds are fundamentally different than the ones that Surowiecki characterizes. Surowiecki is quick to note that these crazed crowds of investors don’t meet the criteria he outlines, but his critics note that the long list of required conditions essentially makes the application almost impossible and thus practically useless. As one critic noted, “I like the stories better than I like the theories.”4
