Wisdom of the Crowd brings a new twist to the Saturday night quiz show

Image: BBC

By Jon Donnis

There is something immediately appealing about Wisdom of the Crowd. Rather than simply asking contestants to answer questions, the new Saturday night quiz show is built around a fascinating scientific theory that dates back more than 100 years.

Hosted by John Bishop, the show takes its inspiration from scientist Francis Galton, who visited a farmers' fair where more than 800 people attempted to guess the weight of an ox. Galton discovered that the average of all those guesses was remarkably accurate, even beating the best individual guess.

That idea, which he called The Wisdom of the Crowd, went on to influence politics, economics and philosophy. Now it is being given a rather more entertaining test, with up to £30,000 at stake.

The basic concept is simple. A contestant takes on the entire studio audience, with everyone asked a question requiring a numerical answer. The contestant wins £10,000 if their guess is closer to the correct answer than the Crowd's average guess.

The questions sound deliberately unpredictable, covering everything from the average spend on an engagement ring to how many pairs of pants the average man owns and how many minutes per week the average person exercises.

Contestants get three attempts, but the interesting part comes when they start losing. If the Crowd beats them, they can try again. Fail on the third attempt and they are out with nothing, while the £10,000 goes into the Crowd Fund to be shared equally among the Crowd at the end of the show.

There is also a fascinating escape route. Contestants can choose to forfeit the £10,000 and join the Crowd instead, giving up the chance of winning big for the possibility of taking a smaller share of the eventual fund.

That dilemma is what makes Wisdom of the Crowd particularly intriguing. The science suggests that the Crowd should have the advantage, but the whole point of the show is seeing whether individual contestants can defy the odds.

I like the idea behind this one. It takes a scientific discovery that is genuinely interesting and turns it into a straightforward Saturday night game show, while giving contestants a difficult choice between trusting their own judgement and putting their faith in everyone else.

The big question is whether anyone can actually beat the Wisdom of the Crowd and walk away with the full £30,000.

Wisdom of the Crowd starts on Saturday 19 September at 9.15pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.