Group Think is an Oxy-moron!

Group work is a well-established practice of teachers who are highly-rated by their superiors. Nothing quite warms the cockles of a Principal's or Superintendent's heart so much as seeing students, from diverse backgrounds and of diverse achievement levels, working together on a project.


No scientifically rigorous study supports the idea. Neither does history. But no matter, the educational elites claim innumerable and enormous benefits for this practice,  under whichever label --group think, brain-storming, co-operative learning--  it is known.


The adage that a camel is a horse designed by committee smacks of truth. The great thinkers, artists, businesspeople have, by and large, been individuals who were not educated in the fields in which they succeed. No one got a chance to dull their smarts through group think.


Education, formal education at least, has a very poor record of producing genius. Universities produce managers and teachers. But the minds on the cutting edge of human thought aren't the product of formal education but the product of individual interest and God-given talent. (Not Allah given talent!)


The NY Times Sunday Review of all places published an opinion piece 15 January 2012 about group think by Susan Cain is the author of the forthcoming book Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking.  


Here are some excerpts but click the link and read the entire article; it's an education!

SOLITUDE is out of fashion. Our companies, our schools and our culture are in thrall to an idea I call the New Groupthink, which holds that creativity and achievement come from an oddly gregarious place. Most of us now work in teams, in offices without walls, for managers who prize people skills above all. Lone geniuses are out. Collaboration is in. 

But there’s a problem with this view. Research strongly suggests that people are more creative when they enjoy privacy and freedom from interruption. And the most spectacularly creative people in many fields are often introverted...

One explanation for these findings is that introverts are comfortable working alone — and solitude is a catalyst to innovation... introversion fosters creativity by “concentrating the mind on the tasks in hand, and preventing the dissipation of energy on social and sexual matters unrelated to work.” 

Solitude has long been associated with creativity and transcendence. “Without great solitude, no serious work is possible,” Picasso said. A central narrative of many religions is the seeker — Moses, Jesus, Buddha — who goes off by himself and brings profound insights back to the community.

 So, large classes, large schools, open offices, and ambient noise called Muzak may not be the best way to ensure America's lead the most creative culture ever. Ever.

Look at any Islamic hellhole and you will understand that group think produces nothing but poverty and strife.

It is Almost Midnight in the West. But think about that for yourself; don't just take my word for it.