Human Nature and Social Networks

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Human Nature and Social Networks
I liked this paper a lot (thanks, Tom, for the link) though I admit to rolling my eyes at the Hobbes-Rousseau opening. Still, this is fundamentally right: humans have developed the ability to reduce what might be called the transaction costs of communication through effective internalization of social conventions, such as the use and recognition of language, behaviours and other forms of interaction. More...