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by ajmurmann 1897 days ago
Because individual motivation and macro-behavior aren't necessity aligned, individual understanding might not be enough to changes behavior of the system as a whole. Maybe individual bacteria understand the impact they might have on a host system and are concerned about outcomes as well.

I sometimes think that it is a valid mental model to think of us as not much different from ants in a hive who think they possess more control and freedom than they do
1 comments
lotsofpulp 1897 days ago
> I sometimes think that it is a valid mental model to think of us as not much different from ants in a hive who think they possess more control and freedom than they do

I think it is the opposite. We are different from ants, and have a lot of control and freedom, so we know that if others will not make the sacrifice, why should we?

In an ant colony, I imagine the orders are being given top down and they do not think about what others are or are not sacrificing.

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ajmurmann 1897 days ago
As I understand it, ants and other similar it's like bees don't have a hierarchical structure that issues orders. Instead they follow quasi-baked in behavioral patterns and pheromone signals provided by peers.

I'm not a biologist though and also have no experience in what it's like to be a bee or ant

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