Collective minds: social network topology shapes collective cognition

Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences, Journal Year: 2021, Volume and Issue: 377(1843)

Published: Dec. 13, 2021

Human cognition is not solitary, it shaped by collective learning and memory. Unlike swarms or herds, human social networks have diverse topologies, serving modes of behaviour. Here, we review research that combines network structure with psychological neural experiments modelling to understand how the topology shapes cognition. First, graph-theoretical approaches behavioural on memory, belief propagation problem solving. These results show different topologies communication synchronize integrate knowledge differently, goals. Second, discuss neuroimaging studies showing brains encode one's larger similar patterns our friends community ties (e.g. when watching movies). Third, cognitive similarities between non-social e.g. in spatial associative learning, as well common brain regions involved processing topologies. Finally, recent machine cooperation multi-agent artificial networks. Combining science cognitive, computational empowers investigating structures shape cognition, which can turn help design goal-directed This article part a discussion meeting issue ‘The emergence cumulative culture animals, humans machines’.

Language: Английский

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Explaining Technology

Published: Aug. 9, 2023

A long tradition explains technological change as recombination. Within this tradition, Element develops an innovative combinatorial model of and tests it with 2,000 years global GDP data from US patents filed between 1835 2010. The 1) the pace for a least past two millennia, 2) patent citations 3) increasing complexity tools over time. It shows that combining modifying pre-existing goods to produce new generates observed historical pattern change. period stasis was followed by sudden super-exponential growth in number goods. In model, explosion about 250 ago is time coming, but inevitable once process began at thousand ago. This models Industrial Revolution explosion.

Language: Английский

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Deep history of cultural and linguistic evolution among Central African hunter-gatherers

Nature Human Behaviour, Journal Year: 2024, Volume and Issue: 8(7), P. 1263 - 1275

Published: May 27, 2024

Human evolutionary history in Central Africa reflects a deep of population connectivity. However, African hunter-gatherers (CAHGs) currently speak languages acquired from their neighbouring farmers. Hence it remains unclear which aspects CAHG cultural diversity results long-term evolution preceding agriculture and reflect borrowing On the basis musical instruments, foraging tools, specialized vocabulary genome-wide data ten populations, we reveal evidence large-scale interconnectivity among CAHGs before after Bantu expansion. We also show that distribution hunter-gatherer instruments correlates with oldest genomic segments our sample predating farming. Music-related words are widely shared between western eastern groups likely precede languages. In contrast, subsistence tools less frequently exchanged may result adaptation to local ecologies. conclude material culture lexicon long Africa.

Language: Английский

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Cultural evolution, social ratcheting and the evolution of human division of labour

Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences, Journal Year: 2025, Volume and Issue: 380(1922)

Published: March 20, 2025

While ecological specialization, social differentiation and division of labour are found in many species, extensive irreversible interdependence among culturally specialized producers is a characteristic feature humans. By extending the concept cultural ratcheting (or evolution products such complexity that they become very unlikely to be recreated from scratch by naive individuals), we present simulation models showing how cumulative may have engendered parallel process ‘social ratcheting’ or origin differentiated interdependent individuals groups. We provide evidence humans been associated with network structures splitting cognitive costs production across specialists, significantly reducing burden learning on individual cognition memory. previous often assumed agents unlimited memories, show limiting memories fraction available repertoires has noticeable accelerating effect both producers. conclude two linked outcomes hominin lineage. This article part theme issue ‘Division as key driver evolution’.

Language: Английский

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Division of labour as key driver of social evolution

Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences, Journal Year: 2025, Volume and Issue: 380(1922)

Published: March 20, 2025

The social division of labour (DoL) has been renowned as a key driver the economic success human societies dating back to ancient philosophers such Plato (in Republic , ca 380 BCE), Xenophon Cyropaedia 370 BCE) and Aristotle Politics 350 BCE, Nicomachean Ethics 340 BCE). Over time, this concept evolved into cornerstone political thought, most prominently expressed in Smith Wealth Nations 1776). In his magnum opus, Adam posited that DoL caused greater increase production than any other factor history. There is little doubt immensely increases productive output, both humans organisms, but it less clear how comes about, organized what biological roots are ‘turbo enhancer’. We address these questions here using results from studies wide range organisms various modelling approaches. This article part theme issue ‘Division evolution’.

Language: Английский

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Population connectivity shapes the distribution and complexity of chimpanzee cumulative culture

Science, Journal Year: 2024, Volume and Issue: 386(6724), P. 920 - 925

Published: Nov. 21, 2024

Although cumulative culture is a hallmark of hominin evolution, its origins can be traced back to our common ancestor with chimpanzees. Here, we investigated the evolutionary chimpanzee and why it remained incipient. To trace cultural transmission among four subspecies, compared population networks based on genetic markers recent migration shared traits. We show that limited levels group connectivity favored emergence few instances in As humans, complexification likely happened steps, between populations, incremental changes, repurposing technologies. propose divergence social patterns led increased mobility groups genus Homo , resulting irreversible dependence exchange complexification.

Language: Английский

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The emergence of collective knowledge and cumulative culture in animals, humans and machines

Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences, Journal Year: 2021, Volume and Issue: 377(1843)

Published: Dec. 13, 2021

HAL is a multi-disciplinary open access archive for the deposit and dissemination of scientific research documents, whether they are published or not.The documents may come from teaching institutions in France abroad, public private centers.L'archive ouverte pluridisciplinaire HAL, est destinée au dépôt et à la diffusion de scientifiques niveau recherche, publiés ou non, émanant des établissements d'enseignement recherche français étrangers, laboratoires publics privés. The emergence collective knowledge cumulativeculture animals, humans machines

Language: Английский

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What Makes Us Smart?

Topics in Cognitive Science, Journal Year: 2023, Volume and Issue: 16(2), P. 322 - 342

Published: April 22, 2023

Abstract How did humans become clever enough to live in nearly every major ecosystem on earth, create vaccines against deadly plagues, explore the oceans depths, and routinely traverse globe at 30,000 feet aluminum tubes while nibbling roasted almonds? Drawing recent developments our understanding of human evolution, we consider what makes us distinctively smarter than other animals. Contrary conventional wisdom, brilliance emerges not from innate brainpower or raw computational capacities, but sharing information communities networks over generations. We review how larger, more diverse, optimally interconnected minds give rise faster innovation cognitive products this cumulative cultural evolutionary process feedback make individually “smarter”—in sense being better meeting challenges problems posed by societies socioecologies. Here, only evolution supplies with “thinking tools” (like counting systems fractions) also it has shaped ontologies (e.g., do germs witches exist?) epistemologies, including notions constitutes a “good reason” evidence” are dreams source evidence?). Building this, organized distributed knowledge tasks among subpopulations, effectively shifting both thinking production level community, population, network, resulting collective processing group decisions. Cultural can turn mindless mobs into wise crowds facilitating constraining cognition through wide variety epistemic institutions—political, legal, scientific. These institutions aid decision‐making suppressing encouraging use different epistemologies ontologies.

Language: Английский

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Understanding patch foraging strategies across development

Trends in Cognitive Sciences, Journal Year: 2023, Volume and Issue: 27(11), P. 1085 - 1098

Published: July 25, 2023

Patch foraging is a near-ubiquitous behaviour across the animal kingdom and characterises many decision-making domains encountered by humans. We review how disposition to explore in adolescence may reflect evolutionary conditions under which hunter-gatherers foraged for resources. propose that neurocomputational mechanisms responsible reward processing, learning, cognitive control facilitate transition from exploratory strategies exploitative adulthood - where individuals capitalise on known This developmental be disrupted psychopathology, as there emerging evidence of biases explore/exploit choices mental health problems. Explore/exploit an informative marker development future research should consider this feature target clinical intervention.

Language: Английский

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Janus faced: The co‐evolution of war and peace in the human species

Evolutionary Anthropology Issues News and Reviews, Journal Year: 2024, Volume and Issue: 33(3)

Published: April 16, 2024

Abstract The human species presents a paradox. No other possesses the propensity to carry out coalitionary lethal attacks on adult conspecifics coupled with inclination establish peaceful relations genetically unrelated groups. What explains this seemingly contradictory feature? Existing perspectives, “deep roots” and “shallow of war theses, fail capture plasticity intergroup behaviors, spanning from cooperation warfare. By contrast, article argues that peace have both deep roots, they co‐evolved through an incremental process over several million years. On one hand, humans inherited for violence their chimpanzee‐like ancestor. Specifically, having first skills engage in cooperative hunting, gradually repurposed such capacity execute killings subsequently enhanced it tech`nological innovations like use weapons. underwent cumulative cultural evolution and, subsequently, self‐domestication which led heightened communication increased prosocial behavior within between combination these two biocultural evolutionary processes—coupled feedback loop effects Pleistocene environmental variability—considerably broadened behavioral repertoire, thereby producing distinctive conflictual characterizes our species. To substantiate argument, synthesizes integrates findings variety disciplines, leveraging evidence anthropology, primatology, archeology, paleo‐genetics, paleo‐climatology.

Language: Английский

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