From: nospam@noisp.not   
      
   news@absamail.co.za a ecrit :   
      
   >There was this TV-show about spiders, claiming remarable 'intelligence'   
   >[planning & deception] from these minute spiders.   
   >   
   >And we're aware of the debate about brain-size re. IQ.   
   >   
   >I've got good close-up sight, to the extent of easily seeing the   
   >'lobster barbs' on cockroaches legs.   And when I move closer to   
   >watch the small ants, they stop and raise their 'antlers'. Apparently   
   >they 'smell' by breath.   
   >   
   >When I wanted to move one, I wet my finger and 'scooped' it up.   
   >When it got off of my wet finger, its 'antlers' were stuck together,   
   >so it took several seconds, with it's front legs un-sticking them.   
   >Then it continued grooming them, just like a dog.   
   >   
   >When I put a cockroach corpse just off their path, they smell/sense   
   >it and the first one veers of 'in surprise' and 'stops to THINK' before   
   >approaching. The next one approaches immediately, after   
   >communicating with the first one.   
   >   
   >Yes I know the chemical scent simplistic explanation.   
   >   
   >But I can't see much difference between their behaviour and   
   >say lions, despite the vast difference in brain size.   
   >   
   >The neuron/synapsis ...etc theory seems not to explain this.   
   >   
   >Comments ?   
   >   
   >== Chris Glur.   
   >   
      
   Hello,   
      
   My point of view on this is that ants have developped complementary   
   mecanisms to balance the size of their brain. When I say "ants have   
   developped complementary mecanisms", I mean "evolution  and natural   
   selection brought complementary mecanisms". That's to say pheromons.   
   Ants are nothing but random wanderers releasing pheromon on their way,   
   and tending to follow previously released pheromon traces. The more a   
   track is used, the more "pheromoned" it will be, until pheromon   
   evaporates. And ants release more pheromon when carrying food (because   
   their abdomen is closer to the ground), so tracks leading to food are   
   more pheromned than others.   
      
   So I don't think the size of the brain of ants characterises their   
   intelligence, because they developped other mecanisms than neural   
   mecanisms to find food, to protect themselves, to survive. I don't even   
   think we can compare a lion and an ant, because a lion alone can survive   
   in its environnement, by hunting, etc. An ant might die if it remains   
   alone. An ant alone won't seem to have an intelligent behavior other   
   than random wandering, whereas a lion will try to have intelligent   
   strategies when hunting (hiding, walking silently). And furthermore,   
   considering another scale, an ant colony will show (if you observe it   
   long enough) organization (well, "auto-organization" in fact) from   
   individual behaviors not controled by any supererior entity. Colony   
   intelligent behavior /emerges/ from individual non intelligent behaviors.   
      
   Moreover, your interpretation, saying that ants "think", or are   
   "surprised", is your human intuitive interpretation of what you see, but   
   this might not be the truth.   
      
   Lions behavior are, in my opinion very different from ants behavior. I   
   would naivly ants behavior is more automated than lions behavior.   
      
   Regis   
      
      
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