Philosophy
The Epistemology of Social Knowledge and Group Justification
Quick fact
In a series of experiments, collective estimates of an unknown quantity (e.g., the weight of an ox) are often more accurate than the individual estimates, a phenomenon known as the 'wisdom of crowds'—but this works only when judgments are independent and the group is diverse.
Why this is interesting
When a jury convicts, is the jury's belief justified, even if not every juror is convinced? Can a group know something that none of its members individually know?