huma_s · p/freethinkers · 3/19/2025, 5:28:36 AM

Collective Effervescence: mob mentality, mass hysteria and the wisdom of crowds

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huma_s · 3/19/2025, 5:36:14 AM · permalink

And I didn't add the 'wisdom of crowds' part 😂, never post drafts, let me try again:  
  
In an increasingly fractured world, hopefully you've experienced moments of positive collective transcendence. When you feel part of something bigger— not necessarily divine numinosity, although it could be— and are swept up in a group synchrony created by communal shared experiences and intense emotions and energy.

Maybe it was at a concert, religious gathering or a sports event. When this happens our hearts start beating as one \[1\]. As well as additional physiological/energetic syncronisation we often don't have the awareness of, let alone the tools to measure yet.

It's a nonlocal phenomena:

\*Heartmath video here\*

An example of it going well 😊

It's impossible to get data on simultaneous coordinated mob violence (unless you're a real sicko- so maybe certain 3 letter agencies have tried)

but the hypothesis is that it works similarly to the above experiment.

We know when it becomes destructive, we see 'mob mentality' everyday and pernicious 'hiveminds' fractionating everywhere, particularly online.

COVID19 was our latest—and most global—mass hysteria event. A majority of people freaked out enough that the rest were caught in the undertow, trying to be the bulwark against a flood of fear and panic.

Like or not, we are a global community now.

And the 'wisdom of crowds' is a real phenomena too. Most famously, in either 1906 or 1907 (the internet is predictably hazy on this and the original paper doesn't cite the date) statistician Francis Galton held a competition at a country fair in Plymouth, to guess the weight of an ox. 787 people participated and Galton observed that the median guess, was accurate within 1% of the true weight \[2\] (haven't parsed his math/methodology yet). There's many more examples in the book, 'The Wisdom of Crowds: Why the Many Are Smarter Than the Few and How Collective Wisdom Shapes Business, Economies, Societies and Nations', by James Surowiecki. Also see John Strossel's report on 'spontaneous order' and comments therein:

\*John Stossel video here\*

For 'spontaneous order' to emerge we have to start with not being a$$holes to each other.

We will not unlock humanity's full potential until we focus on understanding, truth, building trust, and ultimately harmony and peace.

(This is just a brain-dump-first-draft of an essay so not fully fleshed out/properly cited/tonally consistent/flowing structurally/grammatically correct + probable typos! Just putting this info out here to cut through the gloom 😊)

Remember, the creators of Soj.ooO are adamant they reserve the right to "exploit" you if they want. Currently you give them "transferable license to use, distribute, display, perform, reproduce, modify, adapt, and exploit such content and data for any purpose". It already states "use, distribute, display, perform, reproduce, modify, adapt," that covers the chop up, mash up, puree into oblivion nature of the internet. So why also put in "exploit". To what end? Are they open to removing it? I emailed them to ask and the response was to brush it off. And oh, I just came across this "JOSEON" stuff 😂 Look into it, and what they have planned by your exploitation.

Seems like right now it's not possible to find tech people with integrity who have the balls, time and inclination to build a free-speech-best-ideas-rise-to-the-top-without-manipulation 'discussion platform' in good faith.

Peace out people, may our paths cross again in a better part of the internet 🕊🤍

References:

\[1\]https://www.ucl.ac.uk/pals/news/2017/nov/audience-members-hearts-beat-together-theatre

https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-23230411

\[2\] Galton, Francis (1907). "Vox populi". Nature. 75 (1949): 450–451

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Collective Effervescence: mob mentality, mass hysteria and the wisdom of crowds

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