Why in news
A recent study explored how ants and humans worked together to solve challenges.
The study found that ants excelled at solving complex tasks in groups due to their ability to coordinate through pheromone-based communication.
The study highlights the power of collective intelligence and emergent behaviour in problem-solving.
Ants vs Humans in Problem-Solving
Ants have colonised almost every landmass, and their total biomass might surpass that of birds and mammals combined.
They are eusocial, meaning their colonies are highly organised with cooperative tasks and division of labour.
The experiment tested ants and humans navigating obstacles while carrying a T-shaped object.
Ants outperformed humans, coordinating better to solve the task, while humans struggled due to the lack of communication (they were restricted from speaking or gesturing).
This highlights the concept of "emergent persistence," where the group’s effort exceeded individual abilities.
Humans, restricted from speaking or gesturing, fell into "groupthink" and often made incorrect decisions.
In contrast, ants’ distributed coordination allowed them to adapt and arrive at the correct solution.
COMMENTS