New mathematical model shows how diversity speeds consensus

I’m glad there is now a mathematical model to demonstrate this. Here’s the qualitative side that I’ve observed (and sought) in my collaborators over the years: diversity of thought and experience breeds confidence in decision making.

Let me further that. When you are encountering a complex, type 1 decision with partial or imperfect information you seek perspective. Getting additional perspectives from people with backgrounds similar to yours might give you confidence in your own experience and its relevance but not that you have closer to perfect information on the decision. By seeking and synthesizing diverse views you gain (or lose) confidence in your position which is critical in these situations. And by diverse, I don’t just mean different or contrarian. It’s actually as, if not more, important to consider the diversity of the person than their view. Some decision making processes specifically advise contra-examples or “pre-mortems” which is fine but it can overly influence your perspective given its contrasting nature. What I seek are people with experience and backgrounds dissimilar to mine. Sometimes they are contra to my position and that’s informative. Sometimes they’re close and that helps bring confidence to my perspective.

Scientific literature abounds with examples of ways in which member diversity can benefit a group — whether spider colonies’ ability to forage or an industrial company’s financial performance. Now, a newly published mathematical framework substantiates the seemingly counterintuitive observations made by prior scholars: Interaction among dissimilar individuals can speed consensus.

https://engineering.nyu.edu/news/new-mathematical-model-shows-how-diversity-speeds-consensus