Natures wonders: ants and other insects farm (Introduction)

by dhw, Saturday, May 09, 2020, 10:37 (1657 days ago) @ David Turell

DAVID: Human traffic jams are the result of individual driver's decisions. The ants make group decisions as each individual makes the same move in coordination. I suspect a learned instinctual behavior based on standardized individual responses to stimuli, as shown in the bridge building study.

dhw: A fine piece of convoluted thinking. The quote shows us human beings following “invariable” rules, such as automatically stopping at red traffic lights. But we are intelligent. Ants are "continuously adapting" their behaviour to changing conditions. And you think that makes them automatons!

DAVID: The studies I have quoted show either/or decisions, as we make.

dhw: The study you quoted said: “Ants seem to avoid the traffic jam trap by continuously adapting their traffic rules to suit local crowding, whereas car traffic follows invariable rules such as stopping at a red light regardless of traffic.” How do you translate the ants’ avoidance of traffic jams by continuous adaptations into “either/or” non-intelligence, while human adherence to invariable rules leads to traffic jams but denotes intelligence?

DAVID: Because each ant's decision is either/or stop/go

That is the human choice, which is why we have traffic jams. Ants clearly have other choices because they AVOID traffic jams by continuously changing their behaviour according to local conditions! Your quote actually implies that ants are a darn sight more intelligent than humans when it comes to traffic control! It certainly doesn't imply that ants are robots!

Under: How sapiens were Neanderthals?

QUOTES: "'I think this shows that Neanderthals really knew what they were doing," Martisius said.

"'Neanderthals knew that for a specific task, they needed a very particular tool. They found what worked best and sought it out when it was available," Martisius said."

DAVID: They have to be thinking smartly to make the choices they did.

I am always amazed when so-called experts seem surprised at the idea that non-sapiens knew what they were doing. And by extension, I am amazed at so many people’s assumption that other life forms DON'T know what they’re doing. Survival depends on all of them knowing that for a specific task they must find out what works best. Sceptics simply ignore the fact that EVERY survival strategy must have had an origin, and once it worked, it became instinctive and only required change if something went wrong. Neanderthals didn’t have to reinvent their tools once they had found out what worked best. Ants don’t have to reinvent their farming techniques once they have found those that work. But intelligence is required to invent them and to adapt them if conditions change.