Neurons and ant colonies

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Neurons and ant colonies
OP - August 29, 2011, 03:28 PM

http://seedmagazine.com/content/article/ants_and_neurons/

Pretty cool article dealing with intelligence. An individual ant is very dumb, but a group of them is anything but. Ant colonies were the first to develop agriculture, having grown fungus for ~50 million years. Use of pesticides was also pioneered by them. They were also the first to domesticate other species, namely aphids. Moreover, ant colonies can design some very efficient ventilation systems.

The article draws some parallels between a colony of ants and a head full of neurons, which I think is pretty awesome.

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Re: Neurons and ant colonies
Reply #1 - August 29, 2011, 03:57 PM

Intelligence as emergent behaviour?

No doubt about it.

Little Fly, Thy summer's play
My thoughtless hand has brushed away.

I too dance and drink, and sing,
Till some blind hand shall brush my wing.

Therefore I am a happy fly,
If I live or if I die.
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Re: Neurons and ant colonies
Reply #2 - September 11, 2011, 11:54 AM

i saw a documentary on honey ants and like always im amazed by them, they can make complex hives for there own defense and each ant of that colony would never be lost, they assign workers and soldiers to various tasks, queens can even make a coalition where a colony has multiple queens, there organized and efficient.

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