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Updated: Dec 18, 2025

The Innovation Arena: A Method for Comparing Innovative Problem-Solving Across Groups
Published on: May 13, 2022
Flexible learning, rather than inveterate innovation or copying, drives cumulative knowledge gain
Elena Miu1,2, Ned Gulley3, Kevin N Laland1
1Centre for Social Learning and Cognitive Evolution, School of Biology, University of St Andrews, St Andrews KY16 9TH, UK.
Abstract:
Human technology is characterized by cumulative cultural knowledge gain, yet researchers have limited knowledge of the mix of copying and innovation that maximizes progress. Here, we analyze a unique large-scale dataset originating from collaborative online programming competitions to investigate, in a setting of real-world complexity, how individual differences in innovation, social-information use, and performance generate technological progress. We find that cumulative knowledge gain is primarily driven by pragmatists, willing to copy, innovate, explore, and take risks flexibly, rather than by pure innovators or habitual copiers. Our study also reveals a key role for prestige in information transfer.
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