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The Diversity-Ability Trade-Off in Scientific Problem Solving

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2022

Samuli Reijula  and
Jaakko Kuorikoski
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Abstract

According to the diversity-beats-ability theorem, groups of diverse problem solvers can outperform groups of high-ability problem solvers. We argue that the model introduced by Lu Hong and Scott Page is inadequate for exploring the trade-off between diversity and ability. This is because the model employs an impoverished implementation of the problem-solving task. We present a new version of the model that captures the role of ‘ability’ in a meaningful way, and we use it to explore the trade-offs between diversity and ability in scientific problem solving.

Type
Social Epistemology and Science Policy
Information
Philosophy of Science , Volume 88 , Issue 5 , December 2021 , pp. 894 - 905
Copyright
Copyright 2021 by the Philosophy of Science Association. All rights reserved.

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Footnotes

†

We thank Kristina Rolin, Inkeri Koskinen, Renne Pesonen, and the other members of the TINT group (University of Helsinki), as well as the participants of the Diversity in Science workshop (Tampere University, May 5, 2019) and the poster sessions at EPSA 2019 (University of Geneva) for their helpful comments. Thanks to Kate Sotejeff-Wilson for editing the manuscript. This research was carried out as part of the Social and Cognitive Diversity in Science project funded by the Academy of Finland.

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