After a short period of training, the testers were set to work, with impressive results. Working independently, they correctly assessed 85 per cent of samples. But then the researchers realized something remarkable. If they started pooling answers – combining votes from the individual testers to give an overall assessment on an image – the accuracy rate shot up to 99 per cent. What was truly extraordinary about this study was not the skill of the testers. It was their identity. These plucky lifesavers were not oncologists. They were not pathologists. They were not nurses. They were not even
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