Ant vs. Man: Ant iPhone Game
September 22nd, 2009 Posted in Ants & Roaches
Ants are complicated creatures that come as small as a quarter of an inch, yet they outnumber almost every other species on Earth. Humans are also pretty complex, yet much larger in size.
We also flourish in pretty large numbers and are the dominant species on the planet. So what does an ant possibly have that could rival us?
We believe ants to lack emotions and unwaveringly follow the mantra “the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few.” This wisdom of crowds idea is what makes ants act more rationally than humans. With our emotions, we make rash decisions on adrenaline or impulse.
It is more rational to leave a fellow ant behind in order to bring home a large meal, because that large meal will feed many. Humans often work in their own self-interest and the interest of those they love. So in the same circumstance, a person may leave the food behind to help a human in need. Thus the difference behind human and ant rational behavior is the emotion behind it.
There are many facts about ants that illustrate their rationality, but the most helpful to the understanding is info on their social structure. By being broken down into different castes with different duties, they are more efficient in getting jobs done that need to be done than non-social insects.
The behavior of ants is more predictable, because they consistently repeat duties throughout their lives without wavering. Humans, on the other hand, also have specialized duties to help themselves and the greater society, yet humans are less rational when it comes to the fulfillment of those duties. It’s because our actions are often lead and influenced by our emotions that we aren’t always rational beings. Thus as emotionless drones, ants are more rational and more effective members of a successful and structured society.
If the roles were reversed, and man was less than a quarter inch and ants were our size, would ants still be rational? Would they be rational, emotionless beings and create video games about killing us on their iPhones? Much like how we today kill ants via iPhone and iPod applications.
Would they waste their time with iPhone games or would they remain the rational beings and fulfill their duties towards society?
Too many questions are left unanswered about this unrealistic circumstance, but one question that is answered is that ants lead rational lives, while man does not. However, one last question that does go unanswered is what is more meaningful: a rational, emotionless life, or an irrational, emotion-filled life?
4 Comments | The First 1,000 to Comment (Starting 12/21/2009) Will Become EcoSMART Product Testers!
By Lorraine on Sep 22, 2009
Well, I hate to have comparison of a human life to that of an insect. But I would chose emotion-filled for the fact of love being an emotion and human life needs it to live well.
Although, there are many earthy examples that can be followed and make human life a bit more beneficial.
I heard a wise quote “Go to the ant, you sluggard; consider its ways and be wise! Which, having no captain, overseer or ruler, provides her supplies in the summer, and gathers her food in the harvest.”
I believe any human when given a God given opportunity to better ones life should be taken even if it’s from a lowly ant.
By Alma Luevanos on Sep 26, 2009
My problem is with ants, they are taking over my house. It’s surprising how they get in and just seem to be everywhere. I cannot leave any type of food out because they will get to it in a matter of minutes even if there is not a single ant in sight. They even manage to get into food that I haven’t even opened. I find them in my laptop, around my desk, in my food storage. They appear out of nowhere and they just sworm all over my food. If I’m eating something and put my plate down for a couple of minutes and I come back to it, its full of ants when there wasn’t a single ant anywhere in sight to begin with. I don’t want to spray the Raid all over my desk or my stuff because then I will be touching it all the time risking the chance of ending up contaminating myself.
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By marcus henry on Oct 24, 2009
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