Information loss from imperfect copying is a constant drag on cultural transmission

Evidence

The other process is more subtle and I suspect more important. If someone is copying the techniques and practices of a highly skilled and knowledgeable expert, they will often end up with a level of skill or knowledge that is less than that of the expert they are copying. Copies are imperfect versions of the original, usually. — Joseph Henrich, The Secret of Our Success, 713

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Random loss of skilled elders can erase a group’s entire complex tool repertoire — Joseph Henrich, The Secret of Our Success: How Culture…, 685; Larger interconnected populations counteract the inherent lossiness of cultural copying — Joseph Henrich, The Secret of Our Success: How Culture…, 715; Humans copy spontaneously and automatically far more than chimpanzees do. — Joseph Henrich, The Secret of Our Success: How Culture…, 100 (+4 more)

Broader Connections

• Translation loss is inevitable and driven by the translator’s preconceptions #exemplifies (0.85) — Donna Landry and Gerald MacLean, The Spivak Reader, 2194
• Language can distort as well as transmit human culture #exemplifies (0.85)
• Copying errors blamed on scribes may reflect divergent local norms and lost base texts #qualifies (0.85)
• Low creative barriers cause rapid novelty decay in cultural artifacts #exemplifies (0.80) — W. David Marx, Blank Space, 696