Abstract
Collective learning is one of the key concepts in Big History for the long duration of human history. It is the human ability to accumulate more innovation with each generation than is lost by the next. This essay covers the basic theory of collective learning, its origins in the Palaeolithic, its intensification under agriculture, the loss of collective learning in Tasmanian Effects, two great leaps in collective learning in the last two millennia, and a brief explanation of how collective learning fits into the wider rise of complexity in the Universe.
Translated title of the contribution | On collective learning: origins, mechanics, and significance |
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Original language | Chinese |
Title of host publication | 全球史评论 |
Editors | Sun Yue |
Publisher | Capital Normal University Press |
Pages | 129-154 |
Number of pages | 26 |
Volume | 6 |
ISBN (Print) | 9787516138137 |
Publication status | Published - 2013 |
Externally published | Yes |
Bibliographical note
Transliteration of chapter title: Lùn jí tǐ zhī shí dí qǐ yuán , jī zhì yǔ yì yìTransliteration of book title: Quan qiu shi ping lun
Keywords
- collective learning
- Big History
- world history
- global history
- Palaeolithic
- humanity
- innovation
- population dynamics
- carrying capacity
- cultural evolution
- complexity
- energy
- agriculture
- industry
- Anthropocene