Difference between revisions of "Superorganism"

From Cyborg Anthropology
Jump to: navigation, search
Line 1: Line 1:
 
====Definition====
 
====Definition====
  
====People====
+
Superorganisms are hives of organisms that work together to function as a whole. The most notable cases are ants and bees, but other organisms work together as superorganisms as well. Superorganisms are fascinating due to the emergent "intelligence" that arises from the sum of unintelligent parts. We would not call one ant intelligent, yet a hive functioning together can complete remarkable feats, such as building a bridge or creating a complex social hierarchy. As Stewart Brand, paraphrasing Tim Flannery, notes:
=====Emily Bernstein=====
+
A Portland researcher studying ants and other superorganisms.
+
  
=====Adam Lazarus=====
+
<blockquote>The first tightly connected superorganism came 100 million years ago when cockroaches invented agriculture and the division of labor and became termites, building complex skyscrapers with air-conditioning, highways, and garbage dumps. Only 10,000 years ago, humans did the same, inventing agriculture and the division of labor in cities, becoming the most potent superorganism yet.<ref>Brand, Stewart. Analysis of Tim Flannery SALT Lecture (5/3/11), SALT mailing list</ref></blockquote>
[http://tedxwoodshole.org/2010/09/01/adam-lazarus-ant-hunter-and-researcher/ Look Insane, Be Kind, Talk Science] from TEDx Woods Hole.
+
  
=====Edward Osborne Wilson=====
+
Taking the superorganism as the unit of analysis, rather than the relatively "stupid" individual organisms, allows us to see the importance of connections and protocols in forming knowledge and completing tasks, rather than the isolated minds that function within the network.
Born June 10, 1929, Edward O. Wilson is an American biologist, researcher (sociobiology, biodiversity), theorist (consilience, biophilia), naturalist (conservationist) and author. His biological specialty is myrmecology, the study of ants. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E._O._Wilson Source].  
+
  
In 2010 Wilson published a novel entitled [http://amzn.to/9ACrST The Superorganism: The Beauty, Elegance, and Strangeness of Insect Societies], 2009, W.W. Norton & Company, Inc. ISBN 978-0-393-06704-0, with Bert Hölldobler Anthill.
+
<references/>
  
  
 
[[Category:Book Pages]]
 
[[Category:Book Pages]]
[[Category:Unfinished]]
+
[[Category:Marked for editing]]

Revision as of 00:59, 30 June 2011

Definition

Superorganisms are hives of organisms that work together to function as a whole. The most notable cases are ants and bees, but other organisms work together as superorganisms as well. Superorganisms are fascinating due to the emergent "intelligence" that arises from the sum of unintelligent parts. We would not call one ant intelligent, yet a hive functioning together can complete remarkable feats, such as building a bridge or creating a complex social hierarchy. As Stewart Brand, paraphrasing Tim Flannery, notes:

The first tightly connected superorganism came 100 million years ago when cockroaches invented agriculture and the division of labor and became termites, building complex skyscrapers with air-conditioning, highways, and garbage dumps. Only 10,000 years ago, humans did the same, inventing agriculture and the division of labor in cities, becoming the most potent superorganism yet.[1]

Taking the superorganism as the unit of analysis, rather than the relatively "stupid" individual organisms, allows us to see the importance of connections and protocols in forming knowledge and completing tasks, rather than the isolated minds that function within the network.

  1. Brand, Stewart. Analysis of Tim Flannery SALT Lecture (5/3/11), SALT mailing list