Nah, the longer the bridge the more stress. The algorithm probably just days: as long as others walk on you, stay in the bridge; as soon as a gap emerges, fill the gap.
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Simple algorithm doesn't mean stupid. Given that these ants optimize bridge material vs path length in other experiments I'd expect there to be some benefit in this costly structure. Something something tension. I found a nice picture.pic.twitter.com/migRCuKaSV
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Of course, yet the bridge in the video was a wasteful solution. I understand the desire to romanticize insect cognition, but come on
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Okay I either got to learn some physics math or concede this point for now :p
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Convince me please
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How else could they have built this bridge? They basically can just hang from both sides. Apparently they can not 'swing' and knot the ends together, could they? So they need longer lines until it is possible to reach the other side, I think.
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I suspect you give them too much credit: they don’t have communication or spatial models, so they did not start building from two sides. They probably just crawled on each other, slipped away from the ceiling and then kept elongating the bridge to account for additional slippage.
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Then I guess they get lucky very often:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A4uv27nSaH4 …
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Looks like they simply use smell to walk towards clumps of other ants, and stay in place while being trampled on? (Some ant species also have a rough homing algorithm based on polarized sky light direction and crawled distance.) Does it look impressive to you?
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No one said here they're designing and calculating bridges like engineers. Taking their size (especially brains) into account, yes I think that is impressive.
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I can point you to breathless articles where people say almost literally that... Personally, watching their bridges cured me of the notion that ants add up to a level of cognitive capacity that would beat even a shrew (which has the same number of neurons as 200 ants).
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Just saw this and thought of this thread :Dhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nGlzoT0sLaM …
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