[MD] (MD] Collective intelligence

[Horse]

Hi Folks

Before we get into another pointless political debate about the 
wonderfulness of the magnificent individual versus the marvelous 
collective could we try and think about this maybe from a slightly 
better perspective - i.e. mine! :)

The term 'collective intelligence', IMO, is probably a misnomer in terms 
of the MoQ as it, incorrectly, appears to conjoin social and 
intellectual patterns.
It may be better to think of it as 'collective knowledge' which can then 
be placed at the social level as patterns that accumulate and persist 
over time within a social context.
All learned behaviours and other forms of knowledge that persist from 
one generation to the next but are not transmitted by biological means 
can now be neatly placed in this holder. Anything from how to crack an 
oyster open to the mangled grunts that constitute primitive language can 
be included, as can more complex language and whatever other social 
patterns you choose to include. When this 'collective knowledge' becomes 
sufficiently ordered and complex emergent patterns will start to appear 
- for an example think in terms of how a city develops and persists over 
many decades and even centuries.
Awareness and contemplation of these patterns gradually gives rise to 
ordering and restructuring which leads to intellectual activity and the 
emergence of the intellectual level. So just as the biological patterns 
of life are available to the social level, so the developing social 
patterns of collective knowledge are available to the intellectual level.

Any thoughts?


Horse