Simplifying Complexity cover image

Simplifying Complexity

How can we harness the wisdom of the crowd?

Jan 8, 2024
Rajiv Sethi, Professor of Economics at Bernard College at Columbia University, discusses prediction markets and how they harness the wisdom of the crowd. They explore the concept of markets as speculation and aggregation of information, compare prediction markets to epidemiological models, and suggest using prediction markets to capture rare events more effectively.
35:06

Episode guests

Podcast summary created with Snipd AI

Quick takeaways

  • Prediction markets, which gather opinions and bets from the general public, can outperform experts' models in certain situations, particularly those involving social aspects.
  • Prediction markets allow for input from non-experts and consider a wide range of variables and perspectives, making them depolarizing tools compared to echo chambers found on other online platforms.

Deep dives

Prediction markets as an alternative to model building

Prediction markets offer an alternative approach to model building in science and forecasting. Rather than relying on experts and model construction, prediction markets gather opinions and bets from the general public. While this may initially seem less reliable, prediction markets have proven to be effective in certain situations, particularly those involving social aspects. These markets not only allow individuals to predict future events, but also enable them to bet against each other based on their beliefs. This approach, known as the wisdom of the crowd, has shown promising results in accurately predicting outcomes.

Get the Snipd
podcast app

Unlock the knowledge in podcasts with the podcast player of the future.
App store bannerPlay store banner

AI-powered
podcast player

Listen to all your favourite podcasts with AI-powered features

Discover
highlights

Listen to the best highlights from the podcasts you love and dive into the full episode

Save any
moment

Hear something you like? Tap your headphones to save it with AI-generated key takeaways

Share
& Export

Send highlights to Twitter, WhatsApp or export them to Notion, Readwise & more

AI-powered
podcast player

Listen to all your favourite podcasts with AI-powered features

Discover
highlights

Listen to the best highlights from the podcasts you love and dive into the full episode