Value of cognitive diversity in science.

When should a scientific community be cognitively diverse? This article presents a model for studying how the heterogeneity of learning heuristics used by scientist agents affects the epistemic efficiency of a scientific community. By extending the epistemic landscapes modeling approach introduced b...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Publicado en:Synthese Vol. 194; no. 11; pp. 4519 - 4541
Autor principal: Pöyhönen, Samuli
Formato: Artículo
Publicado: Springer Nature Nov2017
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Acceso en línea:Ver este registro en EBSCOhost
Descripción
Sumario:When should a scientific community be cognitively diverse? This article presents a model for studying how the heterogeneity of learning heuristics used by scientist agents affects the epistemic efficiency of a scientific community. By extending the epistemic landscapes modeling approach introduced by Weisberg and Muldoon, the article casts light on the micro-mechanisms mediating cognitive diversity, coordination, and problem-solving efficiency. The results suggest that social learning and cognitive diversity produce epistemic benefits only when the epistemic community is faced with problems of sufficient difficulty.