The models discuss the paradox of diversity in cultural evolution and how specialization affects cultural complexity and innovation rates in societies. Diversity fuels innovation through recombination but also divides people.
Social learning is most effective when the environment is moderately variable, not too stable or unstable.
Larger population sizes and connectivity enable higher cultural complexity and innovation through a “collective brain” effect, but diversity also creates inequality.
There is a trade-off between diversity, which enables more innovation potential, and coordination and communication, which diversity hinders.
As cultural domains become more complex, larger effective population sizes are needed to maintain skill levels due to the knowledge that needs to be transmitted.
There are strategies to deal with the paradox of diversity, like using translators and partially acculturated populations.
Cooperation enables larger scales of collective action but is also undermined by lower scales of cooperation, like when nepotism undermines institutions.
The availability of resources and energy affects the scale of cooperation, enabling larger collective efforts when more abundant.
Abundance enables a “collective brain” mindset while scarcity fosters a zero-sum, competitive psychology.
Punctuated rises in cooperation may occur when new levels of resources unlock higher scales of collective action.
The models discuss the paradox of diversity in cultural evolution and how specialization affects cultural complexity and innovation rates in societies. Diversity fuels innovation through recombination but also divides people.
Social learning is most effective when the environment is moderately variable, not too stable or unstable.
Larger population sizes and connectivity enable higher cultural complexity and innovation through a “collective brain” effect, but diversity also creates inequality.
There is a trade-off between diversity, which enables more innovation potential, and coordination and communication, which diversity hinders.
As cultural domains become more complex, larger effective population sizes are needed to maintain skill levels due to the knowledge that needs to be transmitted.
There are strategies to deal with the paradox of diversity, like using translators and partially acculturated populations.
Cooperation enables larger scales of collective action but is also undermined by lower scales of cooperation, like when nepotism undermines institutions.
The availability of resources and energy affects the scale of cooperation, enabling larger collective efforts when more abundant.
Abundance enables a “collective brain” mindset while scarcity fosters a zero-sum, competitive psychology.
Punctuated rises in cooperation may occur when new levels of resources unlock higher scales of collective action.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oqV23pC4mhA