Accountability

(see also responsibility, alphabetical writing, money, clocks, thermostats and other keywords)

A summative metaphor

By the usual definitions if you are accountable:

1. if you are completely responsible for what you do
2. and you can offer comprehensive and satisfactory reasons for what you have done

The idea of giving account was made possible by alphanumerical writing systems devised 5K years ago

From responsibility --> accountability

• Around 5m years ago, our chimpanzee ancestors lived in optimally-sized groups of about thirty. 
• Then brain size of Homo sapiens grew larger, enabling us to manage group sizes five times bigger. 
• Around 10k years ago, agriculture enabled humans to upscale small communities into vast empires.
• Scaling up meant that we learned to trust managerial accountability as much as personal responsibility.