Most of us have heard that following the majority isn't always the smartest choice. Sometimes the majority is wrong (or maybe just stupid) and following its decisions will lead to poor ones ourselves. Despite this information it seems our brains are hardwired to cut corners in our increasingly busy lives and following the majority is one of those helpful shortcuts.

When I research a product before buying, I often look at ratings and reviews on Amazon. Yelp has provided that same service for restaurants and other categories. But when it comes to what I like, that is a unique decision that shouldn't be influenced by the personal tastes of hundreds or thousands of others. If 95% of people like a dish, it really doesn't matter to me if I'm in the other 5%.

At the same time, some information is better than none and I don't think that this realization will drastically alter my behavior. I do, however, believe that trusted recommendations are a more helpful shortcut than the majority if they are available. Aside from ratings, recommendations are often what drive our decisions in terms of what to watch, where to eat, what to read, and quite simply what to buy. Recommendations won't always match your personal preferences, but I think they will lead you astray less often than an amalgamation of ratings.