A landmark tour of the new science of "idea flow" outlines revolutionary insights into the mysteries of collective intelligence and social influence, explaining the virtually unlimited data sets of today's digital technologies and the considerable accuracy of information from social networks.

From ideas to actions : using big data to understand how human societies evolve -- Part I: Social physics. Exploration : how can we find good ideas and make good decisions? ; Idea flow : the building blocks of collective intelligence ; Engagement : how can we all work together? -- Part II: Idea machines. Collective intelligence : how patterns of interaction translate into collective intelligence ; Shaping organizations : social intelligence through visualization of interaction patterns ; Organizational change : social network incentives can be used to create instant organizations and guide them through disruptive change -- Part III: Data-driven cities. Sensing cities : how mobile sensing is creating a nervous system for cities, enabling them to become more healthy, safe, and efficient ; City science : how social physics and big data are revolutionizing our understanding of cities and development -- Part IV: Data-driven society. Data-driven societies : what will a data-driven future look like? ; Design for harmony : how social physics can help us design a human-centric society.