Homer sharpens a rock and uses it to shave.Schick adds a handle to the rock for better grip.Gillette then changes the rock to a titanium blade for durability.The progression of improvements made to the shaving utensil is an example of
A) cultural adaptation.
B) emulative learning.
C) the eureka effect.
D) cultural bootstrapping.
E) the ratchet effect.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The progression of improvements made to the shaving utensil, where each innovation builds upon the previous one without losing the earlier advancements, exemplifies the ratchet effect. This concept describes how cultural knowledge and technology progressively improve over time, with each generation potentially adding to the sophistication of tools and practices.

Homer Sharpens a Rock and Uses It to Shave