Penn Sociology Colloquium Series

For generations, philosophers and social scientists have complained that social influence is the root of group madness. I offer new findings on the intelligence of collectives, which show that the greatest source of group wisdom is people’s ability to influence one another. However, the key to success lies in the structure of that influence. I present results from a series of independently replicated and experimentally controlled online disinformation campaigns regarding vaccine safety. These results reveal an unexpected relationship between network structure and the emotional quality of online discussions, which correspond to significant changes in communities’ endogenous capacity for distributed collective learning. I conclude by highlighting the broader implications of this work for realizing the promise of urban revitalization, accelerating innovation within research teams, and increasing mutual understanding across politically polarized communities.