Before Reading_ MAIN,About the Author,James Surowiecki,Industrial Revolution,Richard Easterlin,Group Discussion, Born: 1967 Birthplace: Meridien, Connecticut Best known as: An American finance journalist who wrote 2004s The Wisdom of Crowds,Education,Work experience,Publication,The Wisdom of Crowds,James Surowiecki,Education,Current position,Most recent awards and fellowships,Publications,Before Reading_1.1,Surowiecki is a 1984 graduate of Choate Rosemary Hall and a 1988 alumnus of the University of North Carolina. He pursued PhD studies in American History at Yale University before becoming a financial journalist.,About the Author,James Surowiecki,Industrial Revolution,Richard Easterlin,Group Discussion,Education,Work experience,Publication,The Wisdom of Crowds,Education,Current position,Most recent awards and fellowships,Publications,Surowiecki was editor-in-chief of Rogue magazine from 1995 96 and a staff writer for Motley Fool. He was a finance columnist for Slate from 1997 2000. Before joining The New Yorker, he wrote “The Bottom Line” column for New York magazine and was a contributing editor at Fortune. He is now a staff writer at The New Yorker, where he writes a regular column on business and finance called “The Financial Page. ”,Before Reading_1.2,About the Author,James Surowiecki,Industrial Revolution,Richard Easterlin,Group Discussion,Education,Work experience,Publication,The Wisdom of Crowds,Education,Current position,Most recent awards and fellowships,Publications,In 2002, Surowiecki edited an anthology, Best Business Crime Writing of the Year, a collection of articles from different business news sources that chronicle the fall from grace of various CEOs. In 2004, he published The Wisdom of Crowds, in which he argued that a diverse, independent and decentralized group of people, under the right conditions, makes the smartest choices.,Before Reading_1.3,About the Author,James Surowiecki,Industrial Revolution,Richard Easterlin,Group Discussion,Education,Work experience,Publication,The Wisdom of Crowds,Education,Current position,Most recent awards and fellowships,Publications,Directions: Watch the video to see how Surowiecki answers the following two questions based on his book The Wisdom of Crowds .,Before Reading_1.4.1,1) Tell us about your book The Wisdom of Crowds.,Groups can be smarter even than the smartest person within them. When solving problems or making decisions, we d better ask a group of people instead of a single expert. It allows companies or organizations to tap collective intelligence.,About the Author,James Surowiecki,Industrial Revolution,Richard Easterlin,Group Discussion,Education,Work experience,Publication,The Wisdom of Crowds,Education,Current position,Most recent awards and fellowships,Publications,Before Reading_1.4.2,2) How does “The Wisdom of Crowds” apply to real estate?,Two ways. In terms of the market, if you want to go into it, you need to come up with innovative and interesting ideas. There is a lot of competitive pressure. You need to be more active. In terms of companies, tapping collective intelligence of all organizations even of customers could be valuable. It expands our ideas of where good information is.,About the Author,James Surowiecki,Industrial Revolution,Richard Easterlin,Group Discussion,Education,Work experience,Publication,The Wisdom of Crowds,Education,Current position,Most recent awards and fellowships,Publications,Before Reading_2.1,Directions: This clip is a brief introduction of the Industrial Revolution. Watch the video and try to answer the following questions.,About the Author,James Surowiecki,Industrial Revolution,Richard Easterlin,Group Discussion,Education,Work experience,Publication,The Wisdom of Crowds,Education,Current position,Most recent awards and fellowships,Publications,Before Reading_2.2,1. Where and when did the Industrial Revolution begin?,Britain; In 18th century,2. What are the three factors preparing Britain for the change?,Domestic peace, economic health and the availability of critical iron and coal resources in Britain.,3. What happened after the spinning mule was turned into a time-and-labor saving device?,Textile and loom factories essentially replaced home spinning and weaving.,4. Following the textile industry, what demand did manufacturing create?,There was unprecedented demand for new machines, mechanical components, processed materials and skilled labor.,About the Author,James Surowiecki,Industrial Revolution,Richard Easterlin,Group Discussion,Education,Work experience,Publication,The Wisdom of Crowds,Education,Current position,Most recent awards and fellowships,Publications,Before Reading_2.3,5. How did work and economy change in Britain?,Work became increasingly specialized, mechanized and urbanized. An agriculture-based economy evolved into an industrial one.,6. List the inventions mentioned during the Industrial Revolution.,Eli Whitneys cotton gins, 1763; Charles Babbages mechanical computer, 1834; the first steam carriage; steam ship; and steam locomotive.,