James Surowiecki Quotes

Think your own thoughts.

I want people to think through issues. I'm just tired of blind alignment.

He who dares not reason, is a slave.

I am a conservative, but I am not a zombie.

I don't have role models or watch much TV. I go to awards ceremonies but often I don't even know who the people are. I think that's good, because then you don't have preconceived ideas about them.

If you want to be told what to think, well, I'm not in that business.

I believe that people should be able to question things.

The Enlightenment ideal, which all universities claim to endorse, is that everyone should think for themselves.

My message to women is it's okay not to toe the party line on every issue. You don't have to be a puppet or a mouthpiece for your party on every issue. You can be an independent thinker; you can take it issue by issue, and that's okay. You shouldn't be told, 'You can't sit with us.'

The smartest groups, then, are made up of people with diverse perspectives who are able to stay independent of each other. Independence doesn't imply rationality or impartiality, though. You can be biased and irrational, but as long as you're independent, you won't make the group any dumber.

I have opinions, sure, but they're mine, not something I'm going to insist everyone else take as any kind of gospel.

The most unpardonable sin in society is independence of thought.

Liberty is the possibility of doubting, the possibility of making a mistake, the possibility of searching and experimenting, the possibility of saying No to any authority - literary, artistic, philosophic, religious, social and even political.

I've always been very liberal when it comes to people thinking for themselves.

Human beings never think for themselves; they find it too uncomfortable. For the most part, members of our species simply repeat what they are told - and become upset if they are exposed to any different view.

I've never been resigned to ready-made ideas as I was to ready-made clothes, perhaps because although I couldn't sew, I could think.

Well, where there is freedom doubt itself must be free.

A heretic is a man who sees with his own eyes.

I love all men who think, even those who think otherwise than myself.

The truth is found when men are free to pursue it.

I shall never be a heretic; I may err in dispute, but I do not wish to decide anything finally; on the other hand, I am not bound by the opinions of men.

I am something of a contrarian, I suppose. I feel less comfortable when everybody agrees with me. I say, 'I better reexamine my position!' I probably believe that the worst opinions in my court have been unanimous. Because there's nobody on the other side pointing out all the flaws.

If one knows only what one is told, one does not know enough to be able to arrive at a well-balanced decision.

The philosophical spirit is not satisfied to simply accept what it is told, no matter how much prestige the teller seems to have. This is true even if the teller is a god.

There's nothing worse than having everybody thinking alike, talking alike and having the same direction in mind. It gets stale that way.