Wednesday, May 28, 2014

Smarter Than Google

Thursday, May 29, 2014
Go to the ant, you lazybones; consider its ways, and be wise.  Proverbs 6:6 (NRSV)
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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