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Innovation and cumulative culture through tweaks and leaps in online programming contests

Author

Listed:
  • Elena Miu

    (University of St Andrews)

  • Ned Gulley

    (MathWorks)

  • Kevin N. Laland

    (University of St Andrews)

  • Luke Rendell

    (University of St Andrews)

Abstract

The ability to build progressively on the achievements of earlier generations is central to human uniqueness, but experimental investigations of this cumulative cultural evolution lack real-world complexity. Here, we studied the dynamics of cumulative culture using a large-scale data set from online collaborative programming competitions run over 14 years. We show that, within each contest population, performance increases over time through frequent ‘tweaks’ of the current best entry and rare innovative ‘leaps’ (successful tweak:leap ratio = 16:1), the latter associated with substantially greater variance in performance. Cumulative cultural evolution reduces technological diversity over time, as populations focus on refining high-performance solutions. While individual entries borrow from few sources, iterative copying allows populations to integrate ideas from many sources, demonstrating a new form of collective intelligence. Our results imply that maximising technological progress requires accepting high levels of failure.

Suggested Citation

  • Elena Miu & Ned Gulley & Kevin N. Laland & Luke Rendell, 2018. "Innovation and cumulative culture through tweaks and leaps in online programming contests," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 9(1), pages 1-8, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:9:y:2018:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-018-04494-0
    DOI: 10.1038/s41467-018-04494-0
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    Cited by:

    1. Alexandre Bluet & François Osiurak & Emanuelle Reynaud, 2024. "Innovation rate and population structure moderate the effect of population size on cumulative technological culture," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 11(1), pages 1-12, December.
    2. Michael Foley & Rory Smead & Patrick Forber & Christoph Riedl, 2021. "Avoiding the bullies: The resilience of cooperation among unequals," PLOS Computational Biology, Public Library of Science, vol. 17(4), pages 1-18, April.
    3. Salva Duran-Nebreda & Michael J. O’Brien & R. Alexander Bentley & Sergi Valverde, 2022. "Dilution of expertise in the rise and fall of collective innovation," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 9(1), pages 1-10, December.
    4. Brand, Charlotte Olivia & Acerbi, Alberto & Mesoudi, Alex, 2019. "Cultural evolution of emotional expression in 50 years of song lyrics," SocArXiv 3j6wx, Center for Open Science.
    5. Dominik Deffner & Anne Kandler, 2019. "Trait specialization, innovation, and the evolution of culture in fluctuating environments," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 5(1), pages 1-10, December.

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