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(2017) Synthese 194 (11).

Value of cognitive diversity in science

Samuli Pöyhönen

pp. 4519-4540

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.

Publication details

DOI: 10.1007/s11229-016-1147-4

Full citation:

Pöyhönen, S. (2017). Value of cognitive diversity in science. Synthese 194 (11), pp. 4519-4540.

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