  There are both benefits and drawbacks to cultural diversity. It can lead to
friction and exacerbate differences. However, as with biological diversity,
cultural diversity is valuable in times of upheaval; if a previously effective
solution no longer works, it is good to have alternatives available. What
factors give rise to cultural diversity? This paper describes a preliminary
investigation of this question using a computational model of cultural
evolution. The model is composed of neural network based agents that evolve
fitter ideas for actions by (1) inventing new ideas through modification of
existing ones, and (2) imitating neighbors' ideas. Numerical simulations
indicate that the diversity of ideas in a population is positively correlated
with both the proportion of creators to imitators in the population, and the
rate at which creators create. This is the case for both minimum and peak
diversity of actions over the duration of a run.
