Dear FIS colleagues,
An additional aspect of social complexity, not much focused in general, is
the group capability to transcend individual limitations. Collective
intelligence, collective mind, is what results from the ability of
individuals to influence and be influenced by others, allowing them to
expereince an "effective range" of perception much larger than their actual
sensory range. I am following here a recent essay (Couzin, 2007),
developing the argument that coherent social interactions allow (animal)
groups to function like an integrated self-organizing array of sensors,
again increasing effective perceptual range... this way of thinking holds
clues about the evolution of social complexity and for the development of
novel technological solutions (e.g., software agents in data environments,
robotic navigation). In congruence with the notion of information as
"distinction on the adjacent", one can note that this coherent social
networking (the emergence of collective minds) revolves about changing
dramatically the adjacency of individuals...
best
Pedro
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