Collective Intelligence, Dual Thinking and Web 2.0
Collective intelligence is an interesting concept. It is seen throughout nature from ants to bees and flocks of birds. These species naturally work together to thrive as colonies; each member plays a different but key role which, when combined with other skills, brings about the success of the species. Collective Intelligence is defined as "shared or group intelligence that emerges from the collaboration, collective efforts, and competition of many individuals and appears in consensus decision making."- Wikipedia. It's interesting that both competition and collaboration are part of the definition. Competition is a natural instinct that is present in all of us to some degree. This suggests that in order for a collective to be successful, each individual needs to compete in order to better themselves first, before the collective can be improved. When all the individual advances are combined and shared with each other, the collective result is greater than if the individuals wouldn't compete then collaborate. These two characteristics are the key to success.
This is prevalent in professional training and company life. Each dancer works on developing themselves as a business and a performer, and are competing against each other in an audition. Then when put together in a performance, each individual's style and creativity combines with their peers to create something unique together. In class, we are each working to improve ourselves through reflection and corrections from a teacher. However, we could consider learning through observation of others in class as collective intelligence. This is because you are absorbing what a peer is doing differently and using that to evaluate how to improve yourself, forming an unseen connection.
Another aspect of collective intelligence is learning from and responding to one another. Social media and the creation of web 2.0 enables the "shift of knowledge from the individual to the collective" (Wikipedia) more efficiently.
Engaging in conversation in the comment sections of blogs and social media posts can be educational- as long as you practice non-dual thinking. We naturally think in opposites - right and wrong, yes and no. If someone threatens our ego or opinion we may become defensive, therefore ending any chance of conversation and an opportunity to learn. TJ Dawe explains this concept in his TEDx Manitoba talk called "An Experiment In Collective Intelligence". In reflection, we should instead switch this mindset to one of questioning and an opportunity, in order to learn something new from different perspectives- therefore reaping the benefits of collective intelligence. TJ Dawe explains that the initial step is acknowledging the reaction and letting pass; then react to the feedback with an open mind. I saw this on an Instagram post recently in the comments. Instead of turning straight to an argument the two parties started to civilly explain their point of view. They asked questions to understand each others polarised opinions, learning from one another, which was really refreshing to see.
Collective Intelligence is used in the creation of web 2.0. Tim O'Reilly says to think of web 2.0 as a brain. All the connections, or synapses, are created through new experiences (e.g. people using the web) and strengthened through repetition. It helps develop the algorithms in place, which can aid the success of businesses. The use of a hyperlink (a connection that allows you to move between two computer documents- Cambridge dictionary) is imperative in growing businesses. "Network effects from user contributions are the key to market dominance in the web 2.0 era"- Tim O'Reilly. The more links used through repetition, the stronger the connections made between two websites, which help businesses reach a wider audience through targeted ads. The links between the collective smaller websites are just as important as the individual large sites for the success of web 2.0. This just demonstrates the power of the collective.
This information is useful for freelance dancers because we are essentially a business. We may not own a worldwide successful clothing brand, but we can apply this to social media and every day work life to promote ourselves. A good way to use the algorithms in our favour is posting regularly, networking with many people either online or offline, and creating genuine working relationships with many people. Being open to new opportunities and questioning to find out more about others opinions (non dual-thinking) is also important to be successful. Self employed dancers need to see themselves as not just an artist but also a business- you are constantly pitching yourself to possible employers.
References
- Definition of collective intelligence: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collective_intelligence#:~:text=Collective%20intelligence%20%28CI%29%20is%20shared%20or%20group%20intelligence,context%20of%20mass%20peer%20review%20and%20crowdsourcing%20applications.
- TJ Dawe Tedx Manitoba talk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cj5LZBmiQu4
- Definition of hyperlink: https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/hyperlink
- Collective Inteligence : https://thecustomizewindows.com/2012/03/collective-intelligence-theory-and-examples/
- Web 2.0 and collective intelligence: https://www.oreilly.com/pub/a/web2/archive/what-is-web-20.html
- Module 1 handbook
Great post Katie! Collective intelligence immerses itself into our lives so often, more than we think. In terms of being self-employed or freelance, Web 2.0 is vital for networking so you are right in saying we need to self-promote. I liked your analogy of nature, comparing collective intelligence to a bee hive! Understanding difficult perspectives is so difficult. Take the BLM movement for example. I find it hard to understand why people are racist. Perhaps their parents were, and they grew up in that racist environment and were influenced from an early age. Maybe there is a deep root that I have not recognised. However, in order to solve something as huge as racism, we do need to be able to listen to their argument to fix this systematic problem in society.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with you Serina, I think the way that we can combat any social problem is through talking and understanding one another's experiences and views. I think that by doing this, both sides would be putting aside our natural defensive response and confirmation bias and instead learn and educate each other, which is so much more productive that arguing and heated/ disrespectful debates!
DeleteI really enjoyed reading this Chloe. It was really interesting to see social media and collectivism talked about in a more scientific way. I also believe we should try to have more civil conversations on social media through practicing non-dual thinking. Social media is in my opinion a two-dimensional entity, meaning we see people only as their profiles project them, hence we fail to see them as multi-faceted human beings. I feel that this is partly why it is near impossible to have a discussion that does not turn into an argument, since we see the person as a representation of one entire point of view, when in fact they could only share one aspect of that point of view, and also be able to see issues in it.
ReplyDeleteHi! I like how you have explained why people are more likely to argue online- I haven't thought of that before! It is so true, as we only show what we want others to see, and people can interpret that however they want leading to misunderstandings.
DeleteHi Katie, I loved reading your post. I agree in 'observation' being a great way of developing ourselves. When I was completing my DDI training, I enjoyed observing classes - being able to watch both the teacher and the students and how they reacted/responded to each other allowed me to imagine myself in those situations and evaluate.
ReplyDeleteThe links between Web 2.0 and Collective Intelligence are very interesting, and are very important in our everyday lives as we continue to learn. But it can also work against us when it comes to 'fake news'. As humans, we are always wanting to learn and better ourselves, and when more people become involved, 'fake news' could spread quicker and faster.
I agree with you in saying that we are our own business, and the way to become successful is to self-promote. With this day and age (and especially during these uncertain times) it seems the best place to do this is on social media. x
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DeleteI agree with you on the fake news. Especially because our natural confirmation bias (finding answers to questions subconsciously to 'prove' we are right) can impact what we want to believe is true and what actually is. I think it can be hard online to find this truth because when posted on social media it can sometimes be hard to find where this information has come from. After reading more about learning, I still feel observation is incredibly valuable however I think that it's a combination of ways of learning that will make the biggest impact on our development.
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