Socially distributed cognition

Socially distributed cognition is a big, fancy way of saying that our brains are not the only things that help us think and solve problems. In fact, we often rely on other people and things around us to help us figure things out.

Imagine you are trying to build a puzzle. You might ask your parents, siblings, or friends to help you. By working together, you can solve the puzzle faster and better than you could alone. This is an example of socially distributed cognition.

But it's not just puzzles. We use socially distributed cognition in many ways. For example, imagine you are in a classroom and the teacher asks a question. You might raise your hand to answer, but before you do, you might look around the room to see if anyone else knows the answer. If you see someone else who seems confident, you might change your answer to match theirs. This is another example of socially distributed cognition.

Even something as simple as using a pencil to write down notes is a form of socially distributed cognition. The pencil becomes an extension of our own thinking process, helping us remember things and organize our thoughts.

So, when we say our thinking is socially distributed, we mean that we rely on other people and things around us to help us think and solve problems. It's like having a team of helpers in our brains, all working together to help us be smarter and better.