Social learning lead to technological success

... or maladaptive herding, happens in groups when ineffective or harmful knowledge amplifies due to copying and can cause events like instability in stock markets.

Humans are not the only animals to display collective intelligence. Bees are also well known for their ability to make accurate collective decisions when they search for foods or new nests.

And bees can even avoid maladaptive herding: they prevent bad information from amplifying and sprea...

• We should take account of not just the most popular opinion, but also other minority opinions.
• Stimulating independent thought in individuals may reduce the risk of collective madness. Dividing a group into sub-groups or breaking down a task into small easy steps promotes flexible...

If we simply imitate other people without connecting what we see to our own experience, any idea, good or bad, can spread.

Striking the right balance between copying others and relying on personal experience is key. It's the only way social learning can improve decision making.

We humans are so social, that we can hardly be independent of others because of social learning - our disposition for imitating behavior and communication.

In relation to decision making and problem solving, most of us are influenced to some degree by other people, whether it's a...