Sweden | A new study reveals that human innovation relies heavily on semantic knowledge—our internal understanding of how the world works and how different objects connect. Published in the journal PNAS, the behavioral research demonstrates that human creativity is driven by structured cognitive maps rather than trial-and-error guessing.The study involved an experiment where over 1,200 participants played a computer game based on creating inventions by combining different objects. While one group manipulated familiar items like stones and branches, the second group performed the exact same tasks using abstract symbols without predefined meanings. The results showed that participants using abstract shapes performed no better than a random computer program, even when they could watch and copy successful strategies from others. Conversely, groups combining internal semantic knowledge with social learning produced twice as many unique inventions as those relying on social imitation alone, proving that a shared understanding of physical laws is what enables human technology to steadily evolve across generations.
Source: Karolinska Institutet
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