Infotopia

The rise of the information society offers not only considerable peril but also great promise Beset from all sides by a never-ending barrage of media how can we ensure that the most accurate information emerges and is heeded? Cass R. Sunstein here develops a deeply optimistic understanding of the human potential to pool information combat groupthink and to use that knowledge to improve our lives. New ways many Internet-based to share and aggregate information--including wikis open-source software and prediction markets--are helping companies schools governments and individuals not only to acquire but also to create ever-growing bodies of accurate knowledge without succumbing to the dangers of a hive-mind mentality. In a world where opinion and anecdote increasingly compete on equal footing with hard evidence the on-line effort of many minds coming together could provide the best path to infotopia.