Natures wonders: ant group actions; individuals programmed (Introduction)

by David Turell @, Saturday, August 04, 2018, 15:22 (2054 days ago) @ dhw

DAVID: You are right. The leader makes a choice of two alternatives, this path or that. Not much thinking involved. Just pick one. May not need any judgement at all.

dhw: Then what on earth was the point of the test? Hundreds of tests have been carried out to show that ants make intelligent decisions.

DAVID: This study concerned individual actions of the nest when a group is active.

dhw: There wouldn’t be much to study if there weren’t individual actions and if the group was inactive.

DAVID: Our cells make much more complicated decisions on their own, with each cell programmed to choose in concert with his fellows so an organ runs properly.

dhw: Of course our decisions are more complex. But if our cells make complicated decisions on their own, they are not programmed. The leaders decide, the rest follow.

DAVID: Our cells are programmed to work together for proper organ function.

dhw: You say the cells are programmed. The article says the cells make complicated decisions on their own.

The article discusses how groups of ants and individual ants react. It concludes individuals are programmed. No cells anywhere.


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