I rather like the idea of human ingenuity being used to confuse cockroaches - reminds me of the Monty Python 'confuse a cat' sketch, Of course, when we use confusion on ourselves we are truly excellent. What always strikes me when I see the results of animal experiments (other than the quite dreadful cosmetic ones) is that evolution has always beaten humankind to complex leadership strategies, suggesting what we have has less to do with our imagination and more to do with a genetic programme than we like to believe.
On 16 Feb, 16:17, gabbydott <[email protected]> wrote: > You gotta feel it ;-) > > On 16 Feb., 16:40, Chris Jenkins <[email protected]> wrote: > > > Oh, is Vam the naked emperor? I didn't notice him saying that bit... ;) > > > On Mon, Feb 16, 2009 at 10:31 AM, gabbydott <[email protected]> wrote: > > > > Talk straight to Vam if that gets you your relief, not through me, > > > please. > > > > On 16 Feb., 16:21, Chris Jenkins <[email protected]> wrote: > > > > Been spending a bit of time at the male revue, eh? > > > > > On Mon, Feb 16, 2009 at 10:15 AM, gabbydott <[email protected]> wrote: > > > > > > The way I see it, it looks different when not only the Emperor waggles > > > > > his naked belly. > > > > > > On 16 Feb., 11:48, Vamadevananda <[email protected]> wrote: > > > > > > " But it does indicate the importance of recruiting active leaders > > > > > > to > > > > > > a cause ..." > > > > > > > Neil, whatever happened to your pathological aversion to " leaders " > > > > > > and leadership ? > > > > > > > On Feb 16, 1:57 pm, archytas <[email protected]> wrote: > > > > > > > > Democracies work better. It has long been held that decisions made > > > > > > > collectively by large groups of people are more likely to turn out > > > to > > > > > > > be accurate than decisions made by individuals. The idea goes back > > > to > > > > > > > the "jury theorem" of Nicolas de Condorcet, an 18th-century French > > > > > > > philosopher who was one of the first to apply mathematics to the > > > > > > > social sciences. Now it is becoming clear that group decisions are > > > > > > > also extremely valuable for the success of social animals, such as > > > > > > > ants, bees, birds and dolphins. And those animals may have a thing > > > or > > > > > > > two to teach people about collective decision-making. > > > > > > > Animals that live in groups make two main sorts of choices: > > > consensus > > > > > > > decisions in which the group makes a single collective choice, as > > > when > > > > > > > house-hunting rock ants decide where to settle; and combined > > > > > > > decisions, such as the allocation of jobs among worker bees. > > > > > > > > Condorcet's theory describes consensus decisions, outlining how > > > > > > > democratic decisions tend to outperform dictatorial ones. If each > > > > > > > member of a jury has only partial information, the majority > > > decision > > > > > > > is more likely to be correct than a decision arrived at by an > > > > > > > individual juror. Moreover, the probability of a correct decision > > > > > > > increases with the size of the jury. But things become more > > > > > > > complicated when information is shared before a vote is taken. > > > People > > > > > > > then have to evaluate the information before making a collective > > > > > > > decision. This is what bees do, and they do it rather well, > > > according > > > > > > > to Christian List of the London School of Economics, who has > > > studied > > > > > > > group decision-making in humans and animals along with Larissa > > > Conradt > > > > > > > of the University of Sussex. > > > > > > > Dr List looked at colonies of honeybees (Apis mellifera), which in > > > > > > > late spring or early summer divide once the swarm reach a certain > > > > > > > size. The queen goes off with about two-thirds of the worker bees > > > to > > > > > > > live in a new home leaving a daughter queen in the nest with the > > > > > > > remaining worker bees. Among the bees that depart are scouts that > > > > > > > search for the new nest site and report back using a waggle dance > > > to > > > > > > > advertise suitable locations. The longer the dance, the better the > > > > > > > site. After a while, other scouts start to visit the sites > > > advertised > > > > > > > by their compatriots and, on their return, also perform more > > > > > > > waggle > > > > > > > dances. The process eventually leads to a consensus on the best > > > site > > > > > > > and the swarm migrates. The decision is remarkably reliable, with > > > the > > > > > > > bees choosing the best site even when there are only small > > > differences > > > > > > > between two alternatives. By tinkering around with a computer > > > > > > > simulation they found that computerised bees that were very good > > > > > > > at > > > > > > > finding nesting sites but did not share their information > > > dramatically > > > > > > > slowed down the migration, leaving the swarm homeless and > > > vulnerable. > > > > > > > Conversely, computerised bees that blindly followed the waggle > > > dances > > > > > > > of others without first checking whether the site was, in fact, as > > > > > > > advertised, led to a swift but mistaken decision. The researchers > > > > > > > concluded that the ability of bees to identify quickly the best > > > site > > > > > > > depends on the interplay of bees' interdependence in communicating > > > the > > > > > > > whereabouts of the best site and their independence in confirming > > > this > > > > > > > information. > > > > > > > > Simon Hix, also of the London School of Economics, and his > > > colleagues > > > > > > > examined voting in the EU Parliament and concluded that, as might > > > be > > > > > > > expected, it was along party-political lines even though the > > > > > > > incentives to do so were far less than at national parliaments. Dr > > > Hix > > > > > > > and his colleagues reckon that European parliamentarians share the > > > > > > > collection of information but, unlike the honeybees, they do not > > > > > > > necessarily progress to investigating the issues for themselves > > > before > > > > > > > taking a vote. > > > > > > > > There is danger in blindly following the party line, a danger that > > > the > > > > > > > honeybees seem to avoid. Condorcet's theory fails to consider > > > whether > > > > > > > there is an inbuilt bias among a group that comes together to > > > consider > > > > > > > a problem. This "groupthink" occurs when people copy one another. > > > > > > > According to Dr List: "The swarm manages to block and prevent the > > > kind > > > > > > > of groupthink that can bedevil good decision making." Dr List adds > > > > > > > that people demonstrate this kind of bad decision-making when > > > > > > > investors pile into a stock and others follow, creating a bubble > > > for > > > > > > > which there is no good reason. > > > > > > > > Another form of groupthink occurs when people are either isolated > > > from > > > > > > > crucial sources of information or dominated by other members of > > > > > > > the > > > > > > > group, some of whom may have malevolent intent. This too has now > > > been > > > > > > > demonstrated in animals. José Halloy of the Free University of > > > > > > > Brussels used robotic cockroaches to subvert the behaviour of > > > living > > > > > > > cockroaches and control their decision-making process. In his > > > > > > > experiment, reported in an earlier issue of Science, the > > > > > > > artificial > > > > > > > bugs were introduced to the real ones and soon became sufficiently > > > > > > > socially integrated that they were perceived as equals. By > > > > > > > manipulating the robots, which were in the minority, he was able > > > > > > > to > > > > > > > persuade the cockroaches to choose an inappropriate shelter—even > > > one > > > > > > > which they had rejected before being infiltrated by machines. > > > > > > > Could > > > > > > > this form the basis of a new way of catching them? > > > > > > > > The way animals make collective decisions can be complex. Nigel > > > Franks > > > > > > > of the University of Bristol, in England, and his colleagues > > > studied > > > > > > > how a species of ants called Temnothorax albipennis establish a > > > > > > > new > > > > > > > nest. In the Royal Society journal they report how the insects > > > > > > > mitigate the disadvantages of making a swift choice. If the ants' > > > > > > > existing nest becomes threatened, the insects send out scouts to > > > seek > > > > > > > a new one. How quickly they accomplish this transfer depends not > > > only > > > > > > > on how soon the ants agree on the best available site but also on > > > how > > > > > > > quickly they can migrate there. When a suitable place is > > > identified, > > > > > > > the scouts begin to lead other scouts, which had remained behind > > > > > > > to > > > > > > > guard the old nest, to the new site. The problem is that if the > > > > > > > decision is reached rapidly, as it might have to be in an > > > emergency, > > > > > > > then relatively few scouts know the route. It would then take much > > > > > > > longer to train all the scouts needed to achieve the transfer, > > > which > > > > > > > involves carrying the queen, the workers and the brood to the new > > > > > > > nest. > > > > > > > > Dr Franks and his colleagues identified a type of behaviour called > > > > > > > "reverse tandem runs" that makes the process more efficient. > > > > > > > During > > > > > > > the carrying phase of migration, the scouts lead other scouts back > > > > > > > along the quickest route to the old nest so that more scouts > > > > > > > become > > > > > > > familiar with the route. Thus the dynamics of collective decision- > > > > > > > making are closely entwined with the implementation of these > > > > > > > decisions. How this might pertain to choices that people might > > > > > > > make > > > > > > > is, as yet, unclear. But it does indicate the importance of > > > recruiting > > > > > > > active leaders to a cause because, as the ants and bees have > > > > > > > discovered, the most important thing about collective > > > decision-making > > > > > > > is to get others to follow. > > > > > > > > The above is cut down from this week's Economist. This work is > > > recent > > > > > > > but much of it has been known since the beginning of my career. I > > > > > > > wonder what it is in human decision making that screws us up? The > > > > > > > idea of robots being intentionally used to feed us mis-information > > > > > > > seems rather likely! Indeed, we seem to be governed by them. --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups ""Minds Eye"" group. 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