Post AT2SVRmRJd8Kh6kdaS by BenAveling@mastodon.ie
 (DIR) More posts by BenAveling@mastodon.ie
 (DIR) Post #AT0svkD9cbLFsUWjnE by futurebird@sauropods.win
       2023-02-24T18:33:44Z
       
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       Ant themed CS lesson today. (Langton’s) I could build a whole course around ant stuff if no one stops me.
       
 (DIR) Post #AT0svkhHoZRdNwcnlA by BarrenPlanet@c.im
       2023-02-24T18:49:06Z
       
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       @futurebird *ahem* There are ants living in the forests of Snowdonia, Wales, that immediately repair any damage you do their nests, which are basically large piles of wood chippings. Move something, and they quickly arrive to move it back again.How do they know?! Does every ant really have that much of a detailed internal map of the nest? Can pheromones alone really convey that much information? I'd love to know the explanation!
       
 (DIR) Post #AT1ijQvOhIjECgfk5w by futurebird@sauropods.win
       2023-02-25T04:29:36Z
       
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       @BarrenPlanet From what I know about wood ants they make those great heaps to maintain a precise temperature in the nest for eggs and brood.  Tamper with it and you are making a draft in the nursery. They are meerly closing the door.
       
 (DIR) Post #AT2SVRmRJd8Kh6kdaS by BenAveling@mastodon.ie
       2023-02-25T07:55:04Z
       
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       @futurebird @BarrenPlanet To paraphrase, they don’t remember that there was a wall right there, but they know it’s too cold and they know the solution is to build a wall and they follow the same program as before, and they get the same result.
       
 (DIR) Post #AT2SVSK7IQ4WNYVX4y by BenAveling@mastodon.ie
       2023-02-25T07:58:48Z
       
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       @futurebird @BarrenPlanet which is to say, ants are basically ChatGPT in physical form, they ‘know’ what a solution looks like and they try to build one out of whatever parts are available. The end result is a kind of distributed intelligence, the system can do smart things by combining lots of basically reflex responses.
       
 (DIR) Post #AT2SVSzEpWxuR5kNAu by BarrenPlanet@c.im
       2023-02-25T13:02:31Z
       
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       @BenAveling @futurebird Thanks both, it sounds so obvious now you've explained it. Damn, I almost preferred the mystery! 😆Individual ants doing very simple things, can collectively achieve what seem to be inexplicably complex results.And it's not that they *remember* where everything goes, only that the individual ants are very sensitive to patterns of temperature within the mound.