We are used to
comparisons of how industrious an ant can be. But a new study published two days ago by the
National
Academy of Sciences holds
that ants are smarter than Google.
Co-author of the article, Professor Jurgen Kurths told The
Independent, transition
between chaos and order is an important mechanism and I’d go so far as to say
that the learning strategy involved in that, is more accurate and complex than
a Google search.
I love professor Kurths’ terminology…transition between chaos and order. That’s exactly what God did in the Genesis creation
account; the universe was in chaos and God brought form, meaning, purpose and
order to make a paradise.
Back to the smart ant and less-smart Google
Google uses algorithms, complex
mathematical formulas to find information on the ever-expanding Internet chaos. Ants tell each other where the food is
located. Why, then, are ants considered more
sophisticated and organized than Google?
Well, the scientists are still learning, but they hold that the ants cooperate
to such an extent that the intelligence and organization of the group
(as opposed to the single ant) is mind-boggling.
Here’s how:
A single ant will do what it can to find food
for the whole colony. As it pushes out
in (what seems to be) random patterns, searching for food sources, it leaves pheromone
traces, little “scents” of itself. When
it finds, say, a half-eaten biscuit leftover from your picnic, the little guy
will bring it back to the nest. A group
of workers will be dispatched to the site, following the pheromone tracks like
a trail of breadcrumbs. As they walk the
phero-trail, information about location is stored, indexed and shared with all
the other ant-workers so that the journey to the half-biscuit becomes the best
possible route. That’s when the whole
group begins to travel in single file directly to the target, expending the
least amount of energy to retrieve that Hardee’s ham biscuit.
It’s community cooperation for the good of all.
I think Christians of all stripes can learn a
lesson from that.
For You, Today…
Do you isolate
yourself? Are you a hyper-individualist?
Go to the ant….learn
how community is God’s design.
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