This is heresy talk

It's outrageous and we mediators should not take this lying down.

Here's a guy suggesting that face-to-face meetings are less effective than more efficient alternatives.

Sure, Professor Scott Armstrong might well be Professor of Marketing at the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, internationally known for his pioneering work on forecasting methods and founder of the Journal of Forecasting, the International Journal of Forecasting and a bunch of other stuff... but geeez, putting the hex on flesh meetings is beyond the pale.

What's an itinerant mediator to do now?

You just can't go around saying that there is a...

"prevalence of studies showing that, compared with other methods of aggregating opinions... the simple act of meeting face-to-face harms... decision making, although the people involved in these experiments typically do not believe the results"

...suggesting instead that we somehow form ourselves into "markets (prediction, information or betting markets), nominal groups or virtual teams" so as to allow for a more effective use of a group’s collective wisdom.

Get a grip, man!

The NZ Domain Name Commissioner probably agrees with the Professor.

How to make better forecasts and decisions; avoid face to face meetings by J. Scott Armstrong

Hat tip to Decision Science News