Goats from the Zagros Mountains may represent the earliest examples of goat herding.
Image credit: The Central Zagros Project.
-
Edited by William J. Baumol, New York University, New York, NY, and approved September 17, 2004 (received for review May 25, 2004)
Abstract
We introduce a general framework for modeling functionally diverse problem-solving agents. In this framework, problem-solving agents possess representations of problems and algorithms that they use to locate solutions. We use this framework to establish a result relevant to group composition. We find that when selecting a problem-solving team from a diverse population of intelligent agents, a team of randomly selected agents outperforms a team comprised of the best-performing agents. This result relies on the intuition that, as the initial pool of problem solvers becomes large, the best-performing agents necessarily become similar in the space of problem solvers. Their relatively greater ability is more than offset by their lack of problem-solving diversity.
Footnotes
-
↵ § To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: luhong{at}umich.edu.
-
This paper was submitted directly (Track II) to the PNAS office.
-
↵ ∥ In another set of computational experiments where a different problem was being solved, we consider agents with the same heuristics but whose perspectives vary. Similar results were found {Hong, L. & Page, S. E. (2002) Working paper, Diversity and Optimality [Loyola University (Chicago) and Univ. of Michigan (Ann Arbor)]}.
-
↵ ** Mathematically, the expected diversity of two randomly selected agents equals 11/12 = 0.9183333.
-
↵ †† Hong, L. & Page, S. E. (2002) Working paper, Diversity and Optimality [Loyola Univ. (Chicago) and Univ. of Michigan (Ann Arbor)].
- Copyright © 2004, The National Academy of Sciences
Groups of diverse problem solvers can outperform groups of high-ability problem solvers
Sign up for Article Alerts
Jump to section
You May Also be Interested in
Current burning rates of subalpine forests in the central Rocky Mountains are higher than at any point over the past 2,000 years.
Image credit: Bryan N. Shuman.
A study suggests that red dwarfs are not visible in the sky due to factors that inhibit complex life to develop on or around them.
Image credit: Pixabay/pixel2013.
We must vaccinate as many as possible, quickly and efficiently. But it’s also imperative that we ensure people are given a choice of vaccines.
Image credit: Dave Cutler (artist).
These signatures may be a better tool for finding worrisome viruses versus focusing on a novel virus’s genomic similarity to known zoonotic pathogens.
Image credit: Shutterstock/Petr Smagin.