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suddenly start the ants working in a coherent manner, constructing recognisable elab-
orate structures. In another example, an ant's nest was deliberately damaged and metal
plates used to divide the damaged area in such a way that knowledge sharing between
the two damaged areas was impossible. The strategic response, the reconstruction,
matched perfectly. When the dividing plate was removed, the rebuilt sections looked
like one singular rebuilding exercise, perfectly orchestrated. In summarising this empir-
ical literature, Camazine et al. (2001) identify a series of conditions necessary to enable
the emergence of a knowledge sharing system from the insect activity that results in a
coherent strategic response. These include the presence of:
1.
group influence;
2.
stigmergy;
3.
decentralised control, dense heterarchies; and
4.
dynamic knowledge sharing.
Group influence
Camazine et al. (2001) do not clearly label this attribute of a self-organising group; rather
they sum it up as 'I do what you do'. The idea starts with noticing that members of a
group copy or mimic those around them; they are influenced by the actions of others.
Children do what their parents do, artisans learn from their masters, business schools
teach the 'echo of lies' of how management is done, and when at work we learn a cor-
porate culture, we become team players. We learn the preferred way of doing things if
we want to 'get along'. Examples of our compliance to our local group norms include
our dress, religion, food and ethics. However, we can from time to time insert some small
minor variation based on experiences we have had elsewhere. This is analogous to our
genetic make-up; we are only minor variants of our parents, but we are variants. An
invention, a new recipe or a clothes fashion change are examples of an individual
changing a group's behaviour, but if we are honest, one person usually makes very little
difference to the generic behaviours of a community. This 'get along, go along' behaviour
seems related to our very strong 'inclusion' needs; we need to belong to a group. Horses
are trained by threats to exclude them from the herd, which is far more sustaining as a
threat than physical pain. Arguably, the worst punishment we inflict on other humans
is solitary confinement. The need to belong is seen as an explanation of why herd species
and insect colonies are influenced as they evidently are by the behaviour of the whole
group; expressed as 'I do what you do'.
Being influenced by the behaviours of others, especially those immediately around us,
is central to self-organisation. An insect seems to be born perceiving that the world will
be intimately integrated with what the insects colony around are doing. An ant will
merely do what the ants immediately around her do, using whatever genetically received
devices she has at her disposal. More empirical evidence of this from insect research
includes the behaviour of fire flies. When swarmed, fire flies, with their flashing tails,
will all end up synchronising their flashes. The fire flies will alter their flash time and
speed under the influence of the group. Infectious yawns, synchronised reproductive
cycles, synchronous breathing and 'mobbing' are all examples of human group behaviour
that influence individual behaviour. Wilson (1983), giving the example of a librarian
thinking about the demand for topics, uses the term 'cognitive authority' to identify
who of those around us we choose to mimic. In an insect colony it is assumed the indi-
vidual insects can only choose to mimic, to listen to, those immediately around them.
Modern people, who have access to the media, topics and different corporate cultures,
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