I love this. Ants dropping sticks into water - I don't think I've ever noticed this before. Now I want to run a little research investigation in the spring. Sit nearby and just observe - a puddle of water and a puddle of honey water.
Fascinating how we always circle back to definitions! What "counts" as "tool use"? And even, what is "intelligence"? I didn't know all this about ants! Inside my house, the bane of my existence. But amazing little beasties.
While you may have doubts about an ant's true intelligence, you have to admit they have superior senses, as evidenced by their ability to retrace their steps after their marching line is interrupted. They are relentless and always seem to reach their target! It may be that other attributes compensate for lack of intelligence in this case.
This is fascinating, especially the distinction between routine and innovative tool use. With ants, the intelligence seems almost distributed, emerging from the colony rather than from any single individual.
It makes me wonder whether intelligence is always about invention, or sometimes about coordination—many small actions aligning into something larger than any one organism could achieve alone.
Thanks! I think intelligence is probably about both. Invention being needed for changes in the environment -not just man-made but seasonal,etc., and disasters- damaged home, need to move, etc. But coordination does need some level of intelligence, each ant needs to know its role and to be able to integrate it into what the rest of the colony is doing. Given what they do, I don't think it can be entirely innate. But I admit I am prejudiced-I think we have long underestimated the intelligence of other living forms on this planet:).
Fascinating! Having just been in Botswana where the termite ant has literally shaped an entire delta that supports unquantifiable LIFE, I remain in awe of the intelligence other species possess that is so different from our own but equally important and profound. And sometimes I think our human version of intelligence has only gotten in our way, perhaps because there is so much ego in it. Non-human animal intelligence has an inherent goodness that I learn from.
Yes, those termite ant creations were amazing (was there some years back).
And I couldn't agree more-our version of intelligence probably does get in our way because researchers tend to shape their questions around our form of intelligence rather than focusing on what might be necessary or important for other life forms/styles and how that might shape their intelligence.
Just saw "Pangolin: Kulu's Journey" and the scenes in which Kulu is looking for food in ant condos and termite skyscrapers make one want to root for and pray for both predator and prey.
And Dawn, you put it beautifully. And that conundrum makes me appreciate the herbivores like rhinos and elephants who are so enormous and powerful, and yet only eat plants!
Well, thanks for two things. First, for the brilliantly interesting article. Second, for propelling me into an evening of researching ants, tool-use and intelligence.
I've learned to call that research just for your own information (often triggered by someone else's work) black-holing as in disappearing into a black hole of learning. Glad you enjoyed it and a second (not automatic) welcome to Exploring Animal Intelligence!
You can get all these lists of what people mean when they talk about intelligence, and it’s a kind of grab bag of different qualities that changes all the time: things like planning, counterfactual imagining or coming up with scenarios, theories of mind, tool use, all these different qualities. People pick from them according to whatever their particular field is, but they all come from a human perspective. That seemed to me to be what actually united almost all our common discussions about intelligence: that it was just whatever humans did. And so all our discussions about other potential forms of intelligence, other intelligences that we encountered in the world, or intelligences that we imagined, were all framed in terms of how we understood ourselves and our own thinking. It really struck me that this became an incredibly limiting factor in how we were thinking about intelligence more broadly—and not just intelligence, really, but all relationships we have in the world that are so often mediated by our own intelligence. - James Bridle
I love this. Ants dropping sticks into water - I don't think I've ever noticed this before. Now I want to run a little research investigation in the spring. Sit nearby and just observe - a puddle of water and a puddle of honey water.
Why am I not surprised? It would be fun, tho, wouldn't it? Looking forward to reading about your research project once the snow is gone......
::snort::
Curious minds sit in the dirt …
and play-not a bad thing!
Fascinating how we always circle back to definitions! What "counts" as "tool use"? And even, what is "intelligence"? I didn't know all this about ants! Inside my house, the bane of my existence. But amazing little beasties.
Exactly! I think back to a comment a friend used to make regularly: The more you know the more you know you don't know!
And yes, they're much nicer to observe outdoors, in the house, not so much.
While you may have doubts about an ant's true intelligence, you have to admit they have superior senses, as evidenced by their ability to retrace their steps after their marching line is interrupted. They are relentless and always seem to reach their target! It may be that other attributes compensate for lack of intelligence in this case.
An interesting possibility. So hard to know what goes on in the 'mind' of another species
This is fascinating, especially the distinction between routine and innovative tool use. With ants, the intelligence seems almost distributed, emerging from the colony rather than from any single individual.
It makes me wonder whether intelligence is always about invention, or sometimes about coordination—many small actions aligning into something larger than any one organism could achieve alone.
Thanks! I think intelligence is probably about both. Invention being needed for changes in the environment -not just man-made but seasonal,etc., and disasters- damaged home, need to move, etc. But coordination does need some level of intelligence, each ant needs to know its role and to be able to integrate it into what the rest of the colony is doing. Given what they do, I don't think it can be entirely innate. But I admit I am prejudiced-I think we have long underestimated the intelligence of other living forms on this planet:).
Fascinating! Having just been in Botswana where the termite ant has literally shaped an entire delta that supports unquantifiable LIFE, I remain in awe of the intelligence other species possess that is so different from our own but equally important and profound. And sometimes I think our human version of intelligence has only gotten in our way, perhaps because there is so much ego in it. Non-human animal intelligence has an inherent goodness that I learn from.
Yes, those termite ant creations were amazing (was there some years back).
And I couldn't agree more-our version of intelligence probably does get in our way because researchers tend to shape their questions around our form of intelligence rather than focusing on what might be necessary or important for other life forms/styles and how that might shape their intelligence.
So well said Dawn!!!
Termite ants architecture!
Just saw "Pangolin: Kulu's Journey" and the scenes in which Kulu is looking for food in ant condos and termite skyscrapers make one want to root for and pray for both predator and prey.
It is the near constant conundrum of observing wildlife, wanting all to have a good life, knowing that some must feed on others in order to survive.
Oh Marisol, I will watch this!!!
And Dawn, you put it beautifully. And that conundrum makes me appreciate the herbivores like rhinos and elephants who are so enormous and powerful, and yet only eat plants!
Well, thanks for two things. First, for the brilliantly interesting article. Second, for propelling me into an evening of researching ants, tool-use and intelligence.
I've learned to call that research just for your own information (often triggered by someone else's work) black-holing as in disappearing into a black hole of learning. Glad you enjoyed it and a second (not automatic) welcome to Exploring Animal Intelligence!
Thanks for having me, and yip, I'm off down the black hole :-)
Ants dunking donuts?
Sans tiny toolbelts, not fools,
crews share tasty tools!
As long as the donuts aren't too big!
Thanks, Dawn, for another tour into the fascinating world of other-than-humans.
So much to think about here. Look forward to where you take us next on this journey.
You can get all these lists of what people mean when they talk about intelligence, and it’s a kind of grab bag of different qualities that changes all the time: things like planning, counterfactual imagining or coming up with scenarios, theories of mind, tool use, all these different qualities. People pick from them according to whatever their particular field is, but they all come from a human perspective. That seemed to me to be what actually united almost all our common discussions about intelligence: that it was just whatever humans did. And so all our discussions about other potential forms of intelligence, other intelligences that we encountered in the world, or intelligences that we imagined, were all framed in terms of how we understood ourselves and our own thinking. It really struck me that this became an incredibly limiting factor in how we were thinking about intelligence more broadly—and not just intelligence, really, but all relationships we have in the world that are so often mediated by our own intelligence. - James Bridle
well said! We need to rethink how we evaluate other species' intelligence, and probably, as we understand more, to rethink how we evaluate ours!