Futureproof Extra: Ant Behaviours & Decision Making

Look at the structure of an ant nest and you’ll see a highly organised intelligent system and if you look at the social structure of an ant colony you’ll see the same - order, efficiency, intelligence.
Now look at a single ant.
250,000 neurons make up its entire nervous system so in terms of smarts, it’s not far removed from a stick of chewing gum.
So how do ants make intelligent, collective decisions?
Deborah Gordon is a Professor in the Department of Biology at Stanford University, she joined Jonathan to discuss.
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