nmw said:

This is something I have wondered about WRT the so-called "Law of 2 Feet". What if Galileo had just gone to do something else? What if Christopher Columbus had decided to turn back? What if Martin Luther had not said "this is where I stand"? What if Rosa Parks had decided to get up and move? Each of these decisions would have changed the course of history -- and thereby the lives of billions of people. I'm not saying that Lars (or for that matter David Frayne or even myself) are in that position -- but it is actually much harder to be stubborn about something than to give in to a majority. The wisdom of the crowds is not always right (e.g. consider how Nazi Germany was built around conformity to the propaganda that was distributed via media channels -- much in the same way "Weapons of Mass Destruction" were used as an alibi for the many crimes against humanity that have been performed in Iraq over the past years).

Awwww . . . Norbert! You're either too smart for me, or too smart for your own good.

How does singing the praises of OUR Vermont artist end up with stories about Martin Luther King, Columbus and Rosa Parks? And what is that stuff about Hitler?

I don't know about Columbus and Galileo chickened out in his moment of truth, but Rosa Parks and MLK made the simplest vote possible with two feet.

THEY stood up and THEY held THEIR grown. Standing one's ground is as important a vote as leaving. All of those Jews and homosexuals and intellectuals who left Nazi Germany voted with the law of two feet and must be seen as heroes.

I think that you are right about the "Wisdom of the Crowds" because many times the "Crowd" is simply wrong. Lincoln said something like you can fool most of the people a lot of the time, but you cannot fool all of the people all of the time. What I am working toward is consensus, not democracy. I think WE need ALL of the people ALL of the time.