The ants we encounter today are using various types of interactions in different ways. Ants have the ability to teach us a lot about the brain, cancer and the internet in the sense that all these systems have no central control. Sure, ants have "queens" but all they do is lay eggs, they don't tell anybody what to do. All systems with no central control are regulated using very simple interactions. For example, ants interact using smell and interact through the antennae. In the video, Deborah Gordon uses an example in which she puts ants in a box and tracks their movement and interactions with other ants. The final result would look something like the image in this post. This constantly shifting network produces the behavior of the colony such as whether the ants are hiding inside the nest or how many ants are going out to forage.
Ants use interactions differently for different environmental challenges. Every living system has the same kind of challenges. One of the many challenges these systems face and probably the biggest one is operating costs. Which basically means what it takes to run a system. Ants can be used to predict when a neuron adds up its stimulation from other neurons (ants) to decide whether to act or "fire".
This matters to me because I think that if ants can teach us about these things, then why can't other animals teach us about similar things. For example if some animals use echolocation to find things, why can't we? I've recently watched a TV Show about a man who was blind who now uses this echolocation to see things. Here's the video below.
How you enjoyed this Blog post.
-Jackson
Ants use interactions differently for different environmental challenges. Every living system has the same kind of challenges. One of the many challenges these systems face and probably the biggest one is operating costs. Which basically means what it takes to run a system. Ants can be used to predict when a neuron adds up its stimulation from other neurons (ants) to decide whether to act or "fire".
This matters to me because I think that if ants can teach us about these things, then why can't other animals teach us about similar things. For example if some animals use echolocation to find things, why can't we? I've recently watched a TV Show about a man who was blind who now uses this echolocation to see things. Here's the video below.
How you enjoyed this Blog post.
-Jackson