Networking between hive creatures

Nice find El Machinae, I spent about an hour learning up about ants and colonies and hive creatures after this. Good to learn about something new.

Masquerouge said:
Cool stuff. Definitely B-movie grade.
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And at all times during my research, I was thinking this. :D
 
Cheezy the Wiz said:
Four words solve this super-nest problem rather easily:

KILL IT WTH FIRE!!!!!!!!!

EDIT: Molotov that car while you can!
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That's too late. Let's say there are 100 of these nests (I think a low estimate). Each nest has 100,000 individuals, thus we have to eradicate 10,000,000 of these fiends: the risk is way to high that one of them has developed a mutation allowing it to resist fire. Then it will propagate its genes to the entire species, and then we're DOOOOOOOOMED!

Well, that's how my movie would run anyway :)
 
Kan' Sharuminar said:
Nice find El Machinae, I spent about an hour learning up about ants and colonies and hive creatures after this. Good to learn about something new.
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A human brain is an amalgam of neurons, each neuron is a simple (and unique) object, and it relays communications via chemical signaling - using a pre-programmed set of instructions.

An ant hive is an amalgam of ants, each ant is a simple (and unique) creature, they also act along preprogrammed instructions and use chemicals to communicate.

So - can a HIVE become a MIND? If an ant cannot act sentient, can a hive?

Yowza
 
El_Machinae said:
A human brain is an amalgam of neurons, each neuron is a simple (and unique) object, and it relays communications via chemical signaling - using a pre-programmed set of instructions.

An ant hive is an amalgam of ants, each ant is a simple (and unique) creature, they also act along preprogrammed instructions and use chemicals to communicate.

So - can a HIVE become a MIND? If an ant cannot act sentient, can a hive?

Yowza
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If a hive is a mind, then what is the body? :eek:
 
Atleast they have yet to teach this to the more aggresive killer bees.

This doesn't suprise me much, it is evolution afterall. Now is this a revolation on the part of a few wasps and taught to the others or is it a rewriting of the genetic code?
 
After watching the x-file swher ebees are used to transport smallpox(and later for black oil) I am now freaked O_O
 
El_Machinae said:
A human brain is an amalgam of neurons, each neuron is a simple (and unique) object, and it relays communications via chemical signaling - using a pre-programmed set of instructions.

An ant hive is an amalgam of ants, each ant is a simple (and unique) creature, they also act along preprogrammed instructions and use chemicals to communicate.

So - can a HIVE become a MIND? If an ant cannot act sentient, can a hive?

Yowza
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Have you been reading Terry Pratchett? o_O

OT ... my sister once jumped on a wasp nest (aged five or so, didn't know it was in the compost heap) and had to go to hospital. Beware of anaphylactic shock, people near those supernests!
 
Sophie 378 said:
Have you been reading Terry Pratchett? o_O

OT ... my sister once jumped on a wasp nest (aged five or so, didn't know it was in the compost heap) and had to go to hospital. Beware of anaphylactic shock, people near those supernests!
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Sophie! You're back!

You're the second person to suggest I pulled this out of science fiction. I was very sad, 'cause I thought it was quite the revelation when I put it together. I didn't think it was unique, but I didn't know it was common (the only Pratchett I've read is Good Omens).

It still bears thinking about, since the concept of 'sentience' is due to be discussed more and more.
 
I've seen you suggest it before but I don't really follow how it would work out physically. Even if it's somehow created there would be a major problem with lag times. Communication between insects can happen with hormones which is really too slow.. perhaps they could send electromagnetic pulses instead which would start to get things going, but distance between members would still slow processing times down. We also need a lot of members unless they're doing sub-processing individually (but then we would be on to something).
 
ironduck said:
I've seen you suggest it before but I don't really follow how it would work out physically. Even if it's somehow created there would be a major problem with lag times. Communication between insects can happen with hormones which is really too slow.. perhaps they could send electromagnetic pulses instead which would start to get things going, but distance between members would still slow processing times down. We also need a lot of members unless they're doing sub-processing individually (but then we would be on to something).
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Pheronomal (?) communication is actually pretty efficient on the macroscopic scale. True, the global "sentient" entity would have a low response time, but if the individual units are actually able to act on their own, they could be able to defend the entity pretty efficiently.
 
El_Machinae said:
So - can a HIVE become a MIND? If an ant cannot act sentient, can a hive?
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While insect colonies do react to stimuli as if in a directed manner, it is in fact made up of many many insects following relatively simple rules, much like neurons (but at a much less complex scale).

Don't expect any of the Star Trek Borg "hive mind".
 
Masquerouge said:
Pheronomal (?) communication is actually pretty efficient on the macroscopic scale. True, the global "sentient" entity would have a low response time, but if the individual units are actually able to act on their own, they could be able to defend the entity pretty efficiently.
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Yes, that's what I meant with sub-processing. The more subprocessing is going on though, the less it would be like what El Mac is suggesting. That just isn't going to work on this physical scale without EM pulses.
 
ironduck said:
I've seen you suggest it before but I don't really follow how it would work out physically. Even if it's somehow created there would be a major problem with lag times. Communication between insects can happen with hormones which is really too slow.. perhaps they could send electromagnetic pulses instead which would start to get things going, but distance between members would still slow processing times down. We also need a lot of members unless they're doing sub-processing individually (but then we would be on to something).
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You're not suggesting that slow thinkers are less sentient, are you?

Because I think, but I could be wrong, that you're talking about the processing rate.
 
The queen wasp usually attacks and kill any fertile female that arises in the hive, there can only be one queen, so having multiple colonies in 1 hive is very strange, individual insects communicate via pheromones. i think it would be the height of coolness if we can turn on their natural aggresiveness towards other hives with pheromones, War and Mayhem!
 
El_Machinae said:
You're not suggesting that slow thinkers are less sentient, are you?

Because I think, but I could be wrong, that you're talking about the processing rate.
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I am indeed talking about processing rate (high lag times = slow processing). In the world insects operate in such a slow processing rate (using pheromones for data transmission) would make the 'hive mind' impractical. Decisions simply need to be taken more quickly than such a mind would be able to satisfy. This is why I don't think the insect hive mind would be possible on earth unless they switched to electromagnetic communication and also employed a fair amount of subprocessing in the individual insect.

So it's not really about a slow thinker being less sentient - I don't think the slow hive mind would be able to exist here, it needs to be fast to survive.
 
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