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Libraries and ants

There is a great article in the July issue of National Geographic called "Swarm Theory." It talks about ants as dummies individually but smart collectively. They have swarm intelligence. Where this comes from, no one is totally certain. Swarm intelligence works by simple creatures following simple rules and each one operating on local information -- no big picture thinking is going on. And no leadership is required. Companies are using this theory for making either supply chain management decisions or, as in the case of Southwest Airlines, to improve service at the airport in Phoenix. Honeybees use this to make good decisions. They resolve individual differences to do what is best for the colony. I agree with Peter Miller, the author. Wouldn't it be great if people could evolve to the level of honeybees?

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This page contains a single entry from the blog posted on June 16, 2007 8:16 PM.

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