In Defense of Troublemakers: The Power of Dissent in Life and Business
by Charlan Nemeth (Author)

About the Author
Charlan Nemeth is a professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of California, Berkeley. She lives in San Francisco.

About this book
We've decided by consensus that consensus is good. In In Defense of Troublemakers, psychologist Charlan Nemeth argues that this principle is completely wrong: left unchallenged, the majority opinion is often biased, unoriginal, or false. It leads planes and markets to crash, causes juries to convict innocent people, and can quite literally make people think blue is green. In the name of comity, we embrace stupidity. We can make better decisions by embracing dissent. Dissent forces us to question the status quo, consider more information, and engage in creative decision-making.
From Twelve Angry Men to Edward Snowden, lone objectors who make people question their assumptions bring groups far closer to truth--regardless of whether they are right or wrong. Essential reading for anyone who works in groups, In Defense of Troublemakers will radically change the way you think, listen, and make decisions.

Table of contents
    Introduction: Fear consensus, love dissent
Part I. Majorities versus troublemakers: the art of persuasion
    Numbers rule
    Even one dissenter makes a difference
    Dissent as an art in changing hearts and minds
Part II. Consensus versus dissent: closed minds versus open minds
    Consensus narrows thinking - and kills rationality
    Dissent diversifies -  and strengthens thinking
Part III. Groupthink versus groups of thinkers
    Group decisions: often in error, never in doubt
    Better decisions: dissent, diversity, and devil's advocates
    Conclusions

Length: 272 pages
Publisher: Basic Books (March 20, 2018)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0465096298
ISBN-13: 978-0465096299