Collective numbers, not individual genius, drive human intellect’s reach.

Evidence

So, yes, we are smart, but not because we stand on the shoulders of giants or are giants ourselves. We stand on the shoulders of a very large pyramid of hobbits. The hobbits do get a bit taller as the pyramid ascends, but it’s still the number of hobbits, not the height of particular hobbits, that’s allowing us to see farther. — Joseph Henrich, The Secret of Our Success, 1043

Categorization

• recurring: this claim recurs 2 times within its source
• XREF: connects to: Collective brain size, not individual intelligence, may have driven Neanderthal replacement — Joseph Henrich, The Secret of Our Success: How Culture…, 736; Individual intellectual achievements are culminations of collective momentum; Collective intelligence depends on material infrastructure beyond human minds — Yves Citton, The Ecology of Attention, 554 (+9 more)

Broader Connections

• Individual intellectual achievements are culminations of collective momentum #corroborates (0.95)
• A group’s social interconnectedness outweighs individual intelligence in producing innovation #corroborates (0.90) — Joseph Henrich, The Secret of Our Success, 694
• Scientific discoveries emerge from communal slow accumulation, not lone genius #exemplifies (0.90) — Cailin O’Connor and James Owen Weatherall, The Misinformation Age, 166
• Collective intelligence exceeds any individual’s without erasing individual expertise #expands (0.85) — Yves Citton, The Ecology of Attention, 552
• Shared attention builds a collective rather than merely private reality #corroborates (0.78) — Yves Citton, The Ecology of Attention, 121
• Crowds arouse sub-individual instincts while organized groups transcend individuals #expands (0.75) — Georg Simmel, on individuality and social forms_…, 345
• Economic accounts of attention falsely derive the collective from individual activity #corroborates (0.74) — Yves Citton, The Ecology of Attention, 79
• Collective intelligence depends on material infrastructure beyond human minds #qualifies (0.72) — Yves Citton, The Ecology of Attention, 554
• Social values exceed conscious comprehension and require imagination to navigate #corroborates (0.72) — Max Haiven, Cultures of Financialization, 343