Open AccessTechnical reasoning bolsters cumulative technological culture through convergent transformations
Author(s) -
François Osiurak,
Nicolas Claidière,
Alexandre Bluet,
Joël Brogniart,
Salomé Lasserre,
Timothé Bonhoure,
Laura Di Rollo,
Néo Gorry,
Yohann Polette,
Alix Saude,
Giovanni Federico,
Natalie Uomini,
Emanuelle Reynaud
Publication year - 2022
Publication title -
science advances
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 5.928
H-Index - 146
ISSN - 2375-2548
DOI - 10.1126/sciadv.abl7446
Subject(s) - copying , fidelity , context (archaeology) , cultural transmission in animals , computer science , convergent evolution , sociocultural evolution , transmission (telecommunications) , technological evolution , cognitive psychology , cognitive science , artificial intelligence , psychology , law , biology , telecommunications , evolutionary biology , political science , paleontology , biochemistry , phylogenetics , gene
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 generations, which was accompanied by an increased understanding of it. The solutions produced tended to progressively converge over generations. These findings show that technical reasoning can bolster high-fidelity transmission through convergent transformations, which highlights its role in the cultural evolution of technology.