Name: When ideas have sex
Uploaded: 2010-07-14T11:20:00Z
Duration: 16 min 9 s
Description: At TEDGlobal 2010, author Matt Ridley shows how, throughout history, the engine of human progress has been the meeting and mating of ideas to make new ideas. It's not important how clever individuals are, he says; what really matters is how smart the collective brain is.

At TEDGlobal 2010, author Matt Ridley shows how, throughout history, the engine of human progress has been the meeting and mating of ideas to make new ideas. It's not important how clever individuals are, he says; what really matters is how smart the collective brain is.

When ideas have sex

Prosperity has soared not because of lone geniuses, but because people exchange and combine ideas. Over the past fifty years, global income has tripled and child mortality has plummeted, even as the population doubled. Trade, specialization, and collective innovation allow humanity to achieve things no individual could create alone. The true engine of advancement is the shared 'collective brain' that grows as more people contribute and connect.