Learning is a social activity

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.