The replication crisis of science is a good example of how current way of ‘horizontal spread mode of good things’ reaches its limits and needs a correction mechanism. The question is if the correction mechanism can spread horizontally or if it can only come vertically.
If we can understand it—that is simulate it in our heads and see the outcomes—then we probably can convince others about it and it can spread horizontally.
It might be that the dichotomy of horizontal and vertical is too limited—ideas spread in bubbles.
The replication crisis of science is a good example of how current way of ‘horizontal spread mode of good things’ reaches its limits and needs a correction mechanism. The question is if the correction mechanism can spread horizontally or if it can only come vertically. If we can understand it—that is simulate it in our heads and see the outcomes—then we probably can convince others about it and it can spread horizontally.
It might be that the dichotomy of horizontal and vertical is too limited—ideas spread in bubbles.
https://www.gwern.net/Littlewood shows some more limitations of the current horizontal spreading mechanisms.
Another example: antigen tests idea (https://medium.com/@zby/it-is-9-months-now-why-we-have-no-mass-testing-for-sars-cov-2-yet-27b5f409c7d2) - restated in medical/memetic metaphor—there was a cross reactivity of my (for example) memetic immune response system between the antigen and antibody tests.