Larger interconnected populations counteract the inherent lossiness of cultural copying

Evidence

The reason is that some information was lost every generation, because copies are usually worse than the originals. Cumulative cultural evolution has to fight against this force and is best able to do so in larger populations that are highly socially interconnected. The key is that most individuals end up imperfect, worse than the models they are learning from. However, some few individuals, whether by luck, fierce practice, or intentional invention, end up better than their teachers. — Joseph Henrich, The Secret of Our Success, 715

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Learning from five models beats learning from one in a controlled transmission chain — Joseph Henrich, The Secret of Our Success: How Culture…, 698; Information loss from imperfect copying is a constant drag on cultural transmission — Joseph Henrich, The Secret of Our Success: How Culture…, 713; Faith in cultural inheritance improves survival only in cumulative-culture species — Joseph Henrich, The Secret of Our Success: How Culture…, 358 (+3 more)