The Superior Civilization: E.O. Wilson's latest book on ants

http://www.nybooks.com/articles/22356

by kurtosis • 17 years ago

19 9 17 years ago

kurtosis3• 17 years ago

I'm definately buying this one - here's the money quote

"Parallels between the ants and ourselves are striking for the light they shed on the nature of everyday human experiences. Some ants get forced into low-status jobs and are prevented from becoming upwardly mobile by other members of the colony. Garbage dump workers, for example, are confined to their humble and dangerous task of removing rubbish from the nest by other ants who respond aggressively to the odors that linger on the garbage workers' bodies."

gravitycop2• 17 years ago

Parallels between the ants and ourselves [...] Some ants get forced into low-status jobs and are prevented from becoming upwardly mobile by other members of the colony.

Is that what U.S. society is like?

kurtosis3• 17 years ago

well there are certainly traits like low IQ which can become imprinted on a person by working in a "low-status" job or having "low-status" ancestors. These traits are discriminated against by admissions officers and hiring managers. This is our version of the ant's scent of garbage.

But I suppose it is also possible that if we could ask them the ants would claim that their society was completely meritocratic and that the individuals in their society who were confined to sanitation work were inferior in talent to the higher status ants.

d0mine• 17 years ago

I see nothing specific to U.S.

The parallels are even more apparent inside prison walls.

davatk• 17 years ago

I received this book as a gift, and it's certainly fascinating. But one thing the review fails to mention are the excellent pictures and diagrams. The book is printed on glossy paper, and the pictures are full color and high resolution.

katz• 17 years ago

Ants and termites are awesome.

The organism analogy of an insect society is actually due to Eugene Marais (who studied termites). An interesting book of termites is Soul of the White Ant which you can find here: http://www.soilandhealth.org/03sov/0302hsted/030213marais/Th... It is pretty readable for a book that is >75 years old.

Termites can have little fungal farms. They also have tunnels stretching down to the water table so that it can get water even in dry times.

lazyant• 17 years ago

what can I say, ants rule!

The Superior Civilization: E.O. Wilson's latest book on ants

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