Re: [Vo]:Swarmanoids
That's nifty. The robots are working together like ants in a colony, with some specialization in roles. The capability of the whole swarm is greater than that of the individual. In my opinion, a colony of ants or bees should be though of as a single biological entity, like an animal body. An ant colony in the aggregate is more intelligent than individual ants. To put it the other way, an animal body may be though to as a giant colony of cells, plus helpful bacteria. The cells are usually in a symbiotic or cooperative relationship with one-another, but not always, as in the case of cancer. Along the same lines, an airplane is defined as a collection of spare parts flying in formation, from which parts fall off much more often than people realize, according to aircraft maintenance people. See the U.S. Navy acronym TFOA. - Jed
Re: [Vo]:Swarmanoids
But there is a crucial difference between dividing in organs and in different individuals which is the ability to reach resources. A colony of cells cannot do much other dividing tasks among themselves but it cannot reach anything beyond its volume or it must count on passively on the ecosystem's flow of matter and energy. But a hive can do it by itself actively!
Re: [Vo]:Swarmanoids
Daniel Rocha wrote: But there is a crucial difference between dividing in organs and in different individuals which is the ability to reach resources. A colony of cells cannot do much other dividing tasks among themselves but it cannot reach anything beyond its volume or it must count on passively on the ecosystem's flow of matter and energy. But a hive can do it by itself actively! So can a mobile animal. Of course there are huge differences between most colonies and animals . . . but in some cases the distinction is blurred. A jellyfish is a colony of cells - Jed
Re: [Vo]:Swarmanoids
Indeed, this is fertile ground for speculative fiction, especially science fiction. One author I particularly admire, an author who has thought a great deal about the ramifications Daniel and Jed point out, particularly how it might play out on the level of human hive consciousness, is Joe Haldeman. One of my favorite Haldeman novels is a story where he explores the ramifications of humanity confronting another alien species that strongly operates on the collective conscious level. The novel is called the The Forever War. The reason behind the forever war we eventually learn is due to a massive misunderstanding that exists between the way individual humans communicate with other human individuals, and the collective consciousness of the alien race that doesn't know how to communicate on the level of individual human beings. Meanwhile, humans don't know how to communicate on the collective consciousness level either with the alien race. Fortunately, both parties eventually figure it out their misunderstandings, so you might say there is a happy ending - with some reservations. ;-) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Forever_War A question I often find myself asking is where does the mechanism (the soul if you will) of self-awareness / self-consciousness reside? Does consciousness or awareness, particularly some level of SELF-awareness, an awareness of being able to make independent choices reside within a single cell paramecium? How about a jellyfish, or within the collective colony-body of the entire ant colony. We assume individual human beings possess the self-awareness trait, though I suspect certain cynics might beg to differ. What about on the level of The Borg? IMHO, certain eastern philosophies, such as Zen seem to do a good job of describing the nature of collective consciousness, or more precisely collective awareness. IMO, the best way to sense such awareness is to stop thinking for a while. Just be. One may soon discover that the you one has always identified with is nothing more than a brief figment of one's own fickle imagination. When that happens one has an opportunity to confront an even more interesting mystery: Why do I still exist. That's when the fun starts. ;-) Regards Steven Vincent Johnson www.OrionWorks.com www.zazzle.com/orionworks
Re: [Vo]:Swarmanoids
What I wanted to say it is that a hive can extend itself for hundreds of meters or kilometers simultaneously. Daniel Rocha wrote: But there is a crucial difference between dividing in organs and in different individuals which is the ability to reach resources. A colony of cells cannot do much other dividing tasks among themselves but it cannot reach anything beyond its volume or it must count on passively on the ecosystem's flow of matter and energy. But a hive can do it by itself actively! So can a mobile animal. Of course there are huge differences between most colonies and animals . . . but in some cases the distinction is blurred. A jellyfish is a colony of cells - Jed
Re: [Vo]:Swarmanoids
On Mon, Aug 15, 2011 at 4:36 PM, OrionWorks - Steven V Johnson svj.orionwo...@gmail.com wrote: The novel is called the The Forever War. This is similar to the Ender's Game series without the happy ending for the invading hive mind species: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ender's_Game T
RE: [Vo]:Swarmanoids
From Terry: The novel is called the The Forever War. This is similar to the Ender's Game series without the happy ending for the invading hive mind species: Thanks Terry, I've been meaning to read Orson Scott Card's Ender Game novels. I know there's a long series of Sagas pertaining to Ender Game universe. Card is a controversial figure, being a devout Mormon and all. His religious predilections have occasionally caused liberals and the gay and lesbian community to get all riled up when Card sed something that perhaps he shouldn't have. I gather Card has occasionally been verbally harassed at book signings. Despite Card's faults he still writes damned good thoughtful speculative fiction. It just goes to show that even though one may embrace what some might consider a restrictive religious philosophy, that does not necessarily prevent a good imagination from roaming the universe. Card's prose can be beautiful. And mind you - I'm a part-time dyslexic. ;-) Regards, Steven Vincent Johnson www.OrionWorks.com www.zazzle.com/orionworks
