CSC107 - Lab 1
Wisdom of Crowds
Assigned Jan 13th
Due Jan 20th Beginning of Class
Show your work on all questions for full credit.
Numerical Wisdom
Question 1
Five people guess the number of bones in the human body. Four of their answers are 160,
190, 214 and 250, and their average is 208. What is the missing guess?
Question 2
Seven people playing Wits and
Wagers are asked the following question: How many times do the Beatles sing the word "Yeah" in the song She Loves You?
The players answers are 18, 23, 27, 31, 36, 44, and 53. The correct answer is 29.
- What is the average guess?
- What is the collective error?
- What is the average individual error?
- What is the prediction diversity?
Question 3
Why will the collective error never be greater than the average individual error? Discuss the
reasoning behind the mathematics involved.
Question 4
Discuss two real-world situations, one where you believe collective wisdom would be helpful, and
another where it would not be helpful.
© Mark Goadrich 2012, Centenary College of Louisiana