Don’t Follow the Crowd

Calm down

The Body of Abel Found by Adam and Eve by William Blake, c. 1825 (public domain - Artchive)

“What wrath of gods, or wicked influence
   Of tears, conspiring wretched men t’ afflict,
Hath pour’d on earth this noyous pestilence
   That mortal minds doth inwardly infect
With love of blindness and of ignorance?”

— Edmund Spencer, 1591

If you understand human nature, you know people respond to emotion over logic.

That’s not to say that we’re incapable of being logical; just that our gut reaction is to follow our emotions.

Individually, we may be nervous or uncertain. But crowds induce panic.

While James Surowiecki may convince us of The Wisdom of Crowds, it’s even easier to see the folly of crowds as we watch lemming-like behavior take hold, thanks to the instantaneous connection of people online, spurred on by any number of things.