Individuals solve “wicked problems” better than Internet-linked brainstormers | NetworkWorld.com Community

"Like Matt Damon’s character in Good Will Hunting, individuals can solve more complex problems quicker and more efficiently than Internet-based group brainstorming"

Yes, I can see that. Co-operation is generally efficient, but there are times when a group gets in the way. Corporate psychologists use some survival exercise simulations (moon, desert, Arctic) to show how groups function better than any individual in the group. The individuals take a pre-test where they offer their own solutions, then they talk about it for a certain period of time and produce a group solution to the same exercise. The group does better than its strongest member 99% of the time. But in the other 1%, the group includes a true genius who figures out the answers, gets everything pretty much correct in the pre-test, then just doesn't have the patience or persuasive skills to explain the obvious solutions to people who can't see that they are obvious, so in these cases the group actually performs worse than its strongest member.