Heeding The Herd Instinct   Why the Many Are Smarter than the
Few and How Collective Wisdom  Shapes Business, Economies,
Societies, and Nations  By James Surowiecki  Doubleday -- 296pp
-- $24.95  Crowd behavior is usually considered an ugly
phenomenon. Think lynchings, riots, Nazism, China's cultural
revolution -- or even financial bubbles and panics. Unreason and
prejudice seem to rule. Chances are most people would agree with
the Frenchman Gustave Le Bon, who wrote in 1895: "In crowds, it
is stupidity and not mother-wit that is accumulated."  Financial
journalist James Surowiecki begs to differ. In The Wisdom of
Crowds, the New Yorker staff writer provocatively argues that,
in many circumstances, the group collectively reaches better
decisions -- and solves problems more efficiently -- than the
smartest man or woman alone. In this, the author is supported by
social scientists who salute "decentralized self-organizing
systems," such as Adam Smith's invisible hand. Crowd wisdom can
be seen in the superiority