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> Main takeaway, very interesting analogy. Ant colonies are great examples of complex systems with emergent large-scale behavior. Indeed the same could be said
by hansbo 7y ago
> Main takeaway, very interesting analogy. Ant colonies are great examples of complex systems with emergent large-scale behavior. Indeed the same could be said about networks of neurons. Interesting to think of an ant colony as the sum of oscillations of signals.
Indeed. I've long thought that an ant colony should be seen as a single individual, rather than a group. One part which can procreate, like the reproductive system. Another which can fight off invaders, like white blood cells, or perhaps muscles. The anthill, in turn, is like a body; constructed by the cells and neurons, and protecting the system as a whole.
- pure-awesome 7y agoThis point is made in the book "The Soul of the White Ant" by Eugène Marais, and is perhaps the primary thesis of the book. It is a fascinating book, and I can recommend reading it, though having been published in 1925, it is possible some of the information is out-of-date. https://www.amazon.com/Soul-White-Ant-Complete-Unabridged/dp/1508988714 https://www.amazon.com/Soul-White-Ant-Complete-Unabridged/dp... "White Ant" actually refers to termites, though the same principles apply. The book was originally published in Afrikaans. According to Wikipedia: > [The book] was plagiarised by Nobel laureate Maurice Maeterlinck, who published La Vie des Termites (translated into English as The Life of Termites or The Life of White Ants), an entomological book,[3] in what has been called "a classic example of academic plagiarism" by University of London's professor of biology, David Bignell.[4] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eug%C3%A8ne_Marais#Theft_of_his_work https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eug%C3%A8ne_Marais#Theft_of_hi... Following reference [4] led to this page which I unfortunately don't have the time to read in its entirety right now, but from a skim seems to have some interesting further information on termites: https://web.archive.org/web/20070915005006/http://www.biology.qmul.ac.uk/research/staff/bignell/Inaugural.htm https://web.archive.org/web/20070915005006/http://www.biolog...
- wh1t3n01s3 7y agoThe hardcover version is only 814.57$
- pure-awesome 7y agoMy goodness, would you look at that! Luckily the paperback is only 1% the price, so solid deal there! I thought it's a data entry error, but no, it looks like that's the legitimate price range for the NEW hardcovers (the actual listed ones are even more!): https://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B0007JVUSK/ref=dp_olp_new?ie=UTF8&condition=new https://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B0007JVUSK/ref=dp_ol... It's either a ripoff, or some sort of collector's edition original versions. Though if it were the latter, I'd have expected it to be advertised as such.
- ComputerGuru 7y agoThey’re priced by different algorithms that “outbid” each other.
- pure-awesome 7y agoDo they start them at $1'000 and let them bid down from there?
- SQueeeeeL 7y agoThis isn't exactly related, but it's one of my favorite blog posts. http://www.michaeleisen.org/blog/?p=358 http://www.michaeleisen.org/blog/?p=358
- ComputerGuru 7y agoOne of the algorithms could be capped at $1000 for their inventory.
- koonsolo 7y agoI was going to say you can also look at a country like this, with roads as veins, military as white blood cells, scientists/universities for brains, etc. But my theory falls apart with the reproduction system. We don't really reproduce other 'countries'. While with ant colonies, a single entity produces all the "cells", and also all the "embryos" to start their own ant colonies. In that sense an ant colony uses asexual reproduction if looked at as a whole. Thanks for the new insights! :)
- cdo256 7y agoIn some ways that's what collonialism is. It doesn't happen as much these days but if/when we start colonizing other planets, that would be a form of countries (or unions) reproducing.
- dragonwriter 7y ago> It doesn't happen as much these days Oh, we still lay the eggs of new countries in the corpses of ones we kill.
- ta999999171 7y agoSearch 'Wikipedia US Involvement in Regime Change' for more details.
- andersonvieira 7y agoI'm not sure about ants, but with bees the males generally come from other colonies. A princess mating with males from the same colony may cause problems in the offspring.
- dragonwriter 7y ago> But my theory falls apart with the reproduction system. We don't really reproduce other 'countries'. Sure we do. The UK has a whole lot of offspring, for instance.
- 7y ago
- mhb 7y agoI've long thought that an ant colony should be seen as a single individual, rather than a group. The great E.O. Wilson has had similar ruminations: https://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/23/books/review/Jones-t.html https://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/23/books/review/Jones-t.html
- ds0 7y agoI recall termite colonies also have interesting an interesting behaviour that resembles an analogue for an organ that other animals are acquainted with: lungs. https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2015/09/how-termites-ventilate/ https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2015/09/how-termites-...
- BurningFrog 7y agoAnts in one colony are 75% genetically identical. I think this is the main argument for looking at a colony as a distributed individual organism.
- soulofmischief 7y agoThe emergent layers are organelles -> cell -> tissue -> organ -> organ system -> organism -> organization. Consciousness is an emergent phenomenon and a collection of consciousness is the noosphere. Even though each of your organs make their own decisions and contribute individually to your "consciousness", you still consider the entire thing your "self". Your decisions are made based on analyzing multiple conflicting distributed signals given off by your organs. Organizations are no different, assuming identity, autonomy, and motivation.
- kryogen1c 7y agohttps://giphy.com/gifs/keanu-reeves-uPnKU86sFa2fm https://giphy.com/gifs/keanu-reeves-uPnKU86sFa2fm
- TheEndless 7y agoAn interesting religious motif example would be something akin to the body of Christ. We're all members of a larger function or culture.