Technical reasoning bolsters cumulative technological culture through convergent transformations.

ABSTRACT: Understanding the evolution of human technology is key to solving the mystery of our origins. Current theories propose that technology evolved through the accumulation of modifications that were mostly transmitted between individuals by blind copying and the selective retention of advantageous variations. An alternative account is that high-fidelity transmission in the context of cumulative technological culture is supported by technical reasoning, which is a reconstruction mechanism that allows individuals to converge to optimal solutions. We tested these two competing hypotheses with a microsociety experiment, in which participants had to optimize a physical system in partial- and degraded-information transmission conditions. Our results indicated an improvement of the system over genera

SUBMITTER: Osiurak F 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8890708 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature