Inside the ant colony - Deborah M. Gordon
View full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/inside-the-ant-colony-deborah-m-gordon Ants have one of the most complex social organizations in the animal kingdom; they live in structured colonies...
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Think about all the things that need to happen for a human settlement to thrive: obtaining food, building shelter, raising children and more. There needs to be a way to divide resources, organize major efforts and distribute labor efficiently. Now imagine having to do this without any sort of planning or higher level communication. Welcome to the ant colony. Ants have some of the most complex social organization in the animal kingdom, living in structured colonies containing different types of members who perform specific roles. But although this may sound similar to some human societies, this organization doesn't arise from any higher level decisions, but is part of a biologically programmed cycle. In many species, all the winged males an...
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Think about all the things that need to happen for a human settlement to thrive: obtaining food, building shelter, raising children and more. There needs to be a way to divide resources, organize major efforts and distribute labor efficiently. Now imagine having to do this without any sort of planning or higher level communication. Welcome to the ant colony. Ants have some of the most complex social organization in the animal kingdom, living in structured colonies containing different types of members who perform specific roles. But although this may sound similar to some human societies, this organization doesn't arise from any higher level decisions, but is part of a biologically programmed cycle. In many species, all the winged males an...
