pkb contents > org arch | just under 278 words | updated 01/06/2018
As summarized in Wright (2007, p. 13):
"[Science writer Howard Bloom] postulates that the phenomenon of collective intelligence emerges from the interplay of five essential forces: conformity enforcers, diversity generators, inner judges, resource shifters, and intergroup tourmanents. Conformity enforcers (like worker bees or middle managers) ensure that the group as a whole maintains sufficient cohesion to survive adverse conditions; diversity generators (like stray ants or artists) are the 'odd ducks' who generate alternative hypotheses for a group to consider, thus ensuring variation; intergroup tournaments (like the waggle dances of bees or scientific debates) enable societies to test alternative hypotheses; inner judges reward productive behavior and punish deleterious actions. Finally, resource shifters (like alpha chimpanzees or corporate executives) make sure successful adaptations receive the support they need to benefit the group as a whole."
Wright, A. (2007). Glut: Mastering information through the ages. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.