The Secret of Our Success

Henrich's central thesis is disarmingly simple: humans are not successful because we are individually intelligent but because we are the cultural species, uniquely adapted to learn from each other and accumulate knowledge across generations. Lost European explorers routinely died in environments where indigenous peoples thrived -- not for lack of individual cleverness, but because they lacked the locally accumulated cultural knowledge. The book synthesises decades of fieldwork and theory from the Boyd-Richerson programme into a compelling narrative. It appeared before Henrich's more ambitious WEIRDest People, and in some ways remains the tighter, more focused argument. Essential reading for anyone who designs products or organisations and assumes that smart individuals are the unit of success.