Learning is a social activity
ISSN: 1940-5979
Article publication date: 15 January 2020
Issue publication date: 3 June 2020
Abstract
Purpose
Learning often requires little or no expenditure in income; its real cost is that it takes time. The paper aims to discuss this issue.
Design/methodology/approach
Since time is scarce, most people normally decide not to learn about many aspects of modern life, but rather to specialise on certain limited areas. When a matter arises outside our specialisation, we tend to follow others whose narratives we trust.
Findings
So, learning in many cases arises from social interaction, not from individual study. Consequently, informational contagion is baked into our social and economic systems.
Originality/value
Treating time, not income or wealth, as the ultimate constraint improves analysis of the learning process, clarifying its essential social nature.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
Thanks are due to George Evans for guiding the author through parts of the literature, but all the views and the errors remain the author’s own.
Citation
Goodhart, C. (2020), "Learning is a social activity", Review of Behavioral Finance, Vol. 12 No. 1, pp. 21-25. https://doi.org/10.1108/RBF-10-2019-0149
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2019, Emerald Publishing Limited