Swarm intelligence.

Abstract

The standard view of how things work is that an outside force impacts a group of individuals and causes outcomes they are interested in. The outside force may not affect all individuals to the same extent, but we can summarize the effect by taking the average. Effective influence is thought to come from the top, not from the group that is being led. The alternative considered here is that a substantial degree of intelligence resided in the individuals or elements that someone wants to study or change. And these elements of the system interact with each other. This phenomenon goes by many names, but will be called swarm intelligence here. There are many cases where simple rules followed at the local level trump or outperform understanding or control from above. Five examples will be given: (a) ethics; (b) the progression of periodontal diseases; (b) dental continuing education; (c) leadership from within; and (d) the wisdom of group decision making.