How is human society different from ant society?
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Human beings have formed a group of many companions, inherited the history of the past, and developed society. Journalist Bryan Appleyard summarizes the consideration of superimposing such human activities on the ant society.
Mankind's inner ant: why humans swarm together
https://www.newstatesman.com/culture/books/2019/06/mankind-s-inner-ant-why-humans-swarm-together
Mark Moffett , a biologist who studies ants and human activities , points out that Argentine ants are a very similar species to humans. Of course, genetically, Argentine ants and humans are not close to each other, but their behavioral part is much closer to humans than chimpanzees and bonobos. Moffett describes Argentine ants as 'representing the pinnacle of social evolution.'
Argentine ants, like other ants, colonize and each member constitutes a social hierarchy that is responsible for a particular task. In addition, each colony has a specific scent, and it is possible to determine whether the other party belongs to the same colony as themselves or an ant of another colony. Moffett pointed out that these factors are very similar to human societies in which people in various jobs form a society and can distinguish who belongs to another society by hairstyles and other marks.
But more than that, Moffett considers Argentine ants to be similar to humans because he has the ambition to wage war and expand his colony like humans. Argentine ants are known to have a very aggressive nature, and they are actively fighting with colonies other than themselves to expand their power.
Especially in the suburbs of San Diego, it seems that large-scale wars are being repeated repeatedly, Mr. Moffett said, 'Even if I took the Argentine ants picked up in San Diego to the Mexican border 800 km away and released them, they were under the power of the same colony. No harm was done, but if the ant were released under the influence of another colony in the same state of California, it wouldn't have been safe. ' In the war between colonies, the front line is moving several meters in a month.
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In his book Human Swarm, which links ant and human societies, Moffett also discusses how human societies differ from those created by ants and other animals. Moffett argues that 'chimpanzees need to know everyone who makes up society, ants don't need to know as any of the members, while humans need to know some of the members of society. All you have to do is know. '
For example, humans can casually enter a cafe in a strange town and ask for coffee or something to relax. In this case, most of the customers and clerk around them are strangers, but they do not fight or be attacked like ants. 'This is one of the most undervalued achievements of humans,' Moffett points out, for example, other vertebrates can only relax after recognizing who others are in the cafe, Argentina. Ants can relax after making sure that the smell of others is the same as themselves.
However, human beings are special beings who can spend comfortably among others. Moffett believes that the ability of humans to penetrate into others, or the ability of the community to accept others, has allowed it to create a community in which all members are unfamiliar. If humans were animals that couldn't accept others, they might still only form a small community of tens to hundreds, Appleyard said.
by Marianna
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