Problem solving, collective unconscious, and social evolution one piece at a time

When a critical number of people see a problem, some start seeing an answer.

This essay has to start with a shout out to one of my favorite urban legends/intellectual theories — The Hundredth Monkey Effect. In short, this is a reference to a 1950’s research study of monkeys, which produced a theory that once a critical number of members of a group (in this case 100 monkeys) has learned a new behavior, that behavior will be acquired spontaneously by other groups of monkeys, despite being separated by great distances. In this study, the successive groups of monkeys were on different islands, separated by many miles of ocean.

Myth, Legend, Theory, Solution

One of the best things about myths and legends is that they give a form to things and occurrences that are observed or known in pieces but not quite understood or identifiable as fact. For millennia they have given us humans the inspiration to search for meaning and to create something tangible that meets the need for understanding our world. In Norse mythology thunder can be caused by the gods playing a game — bowling in Asgard? Then one day Ben Franklin connects with lightening, discovering a means of understanding electricity. On another day Thomas Edison applies that understanding to the creation of a…