Stuck in traffic? You're no ant, my friend
Have you ever sat for a couple of hours and just watched ants work? Unless you have a government grant or just no life at all, probably not. They're actually quite fascinating according to The Discovery Channel. They (the ants, not TDC) can carry 10-50 times their own weight, get more done before dawn than you do in a month, can fill out 1040-EZ forms without the worksheets and never, ever get caught in traffic jams.That last ant fact is from the research of one of those grant-funded ant watchers who spent the last 8 years watching the tiny insects' behavior. Audrey Dussutour of the University of Sydney, observed that even on a path as slim as a tree branch, leafcutter ants optimized their going and coming traffic with no entomological pileups.
And how is this supposed to help you during gridlock Monday morning? For starters, slow down. Apparently, not being in such a hurry to get somewhere could actually speed up the flow of human traffic. Dussutour observed that when faster-moving ants not carrying a load got behind slower, load-bearing ants, they chose patience instead of passing the pokey ant, which actually allowed the overall colony to move faster.
Which leads to the part that interests us most. Researchers are using algorythms developed from the ant behaviors to develop a multi-car navigation system that could one day lead to those driverless cars we've been hearing about for 50 years. Let's just hope that whatever they come up with, our robocars come equipped with anti-magnifying glass beam protection, otherwise we're all fried.
[Source: Wired Science | Photo: Audrey Dussutour]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Jake B 2:39PM (2/07/2009)
What happens when the load bearing ant gets distracted by Cool Ant's Dubs and hater vision and accidentally crashes into other ants! WHAT THEN!
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Smegley 4:50PM (2/07/2009)
It's easy to slow up if you're an ant because you can relax and check out all the sexy naked female ant butts in front of you. As for the rest of us, we need to get to the office asap and stream our morning porn.
imirk 2:44PM (2/07/2009)
Skynet! Take me to the mall
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Ken 2:46PM (2/07/2009)
Ants aren't egotistic and work for the greater good. Instead we humans are always in such a rush thinking our own individual lives and timeframes are important than anything else. Thats the key..
We can all attest to that personally and from observation. The "power" exec in his 7 series cutting you off, the soccer mom in the SUV, the ricer in his buzzbomb or the out-to-lunch teen in her Jetta. Each one of them lost in their own little world cutting in line and potentially causing an accident that slows the rest of traffic down to a grinding halt.
Civility and common sense go a long way to prevent all this.
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Mark K. 10:41AM (2/08/2009)
First, ants do not have stop signs and red lights - I don't think anybody has a problem with traffic flow on an interstate between the cities.
Second, once we do have stop signs and traffic lights, drivers in US should taught concept of acceleration as well as speed. Speed is legally limited, acceleration isn't. Next time you are on secondary road intersection with main throughfare, notice that green light stays on for 10-15 seconds max. Waiting 2 seconds after green before you ease out of the intersection and reach 35 mph speed limit after 1/2 mile will leave 3-4 poor bastards waiting for yet another green (another 2 minutes) - it's easy to verify, just check in that thingy in the front of you, slightly towards your right, at your eye level ... yes that, it's not really dice hanger, it's called rear-view mirror. Since when you were appointed LOEET (Lord Of Everybody Else's Time)?
Strange this ... in US if I steal 20 from you pocket at the gas station and get caught, I'll be in the world of hurt for rest of my life. Yet, all I need to do is return it to you and everything is as before. Now, stealing 2 minutes from somebody's life, which not even God Almighty can give you back is suddenly OK. Strange ...
Rich 4:30PM (2/08/2009)
...to say nothing of the side-by-side road lovers in [whatever car it is that you drive] who consistently drive 3mph under the limit, and never leave each others' sides, even when it's bloody obvious there's a ten mile tailback caused just by two idiots.
Or the "gotta be ahead of you" nutcase in a Camry who just cannot accept that someone might have the skills to be able to negotiate (shock!) a bend in the road, and has to squeeze that gap you were going to use to break out of the jam and into the clear road ahead.
Yes indeed, there are more than four kinds of idiot on the roads, and you might be one of them.
I'm the guy who's trying to make use of the clear road ahead and sitting precisely 18" to the left of your center line to signal by position that I want to get past you, you ignorant twit and when are you going to use your mirrors?
Julius 2:47PM (2/07/2009)
This line of thinking is also vindicated re: evacuating an airliner. If everyone is orderly, then people get out quickly. If people panic and crush towards the doors, noone gets out.
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Jake B 3:01PM (2/07/2009)
Yeah but if you are at the head of the line and panic you will probably get off so its cool.
timurjonchik 2:50PM (2/07/2009)
I used to eat ants alive when i was a baby. Sour
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jamie 2:51PM (2/07/2009)
"Go to the ant you sluggard."
Almost all ants (and aunts) are females.
This only proves that women are better drivers and can handle business better and more efficiently.
No surprise to me, doh.
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John 3:07PM (2/07/2009)
Well done Jamie. You have won this round, but I shall use my larger brain to figure out a retort as long as I don't get distracted by women/cars/explosions/flashing lights/women/food/videogames.
jamie 3:30PM (2/07/2009)
John
Larger doesn't mean its better.
What you rather have?
a HUMVEE H1 or
a LAMBORGHINI GALLARDO SUPERLEGGERA?
Touchez mon amie. Gotcha, again!
Berto 3:40PM (2/07/2009)
So true.
I remember my friend's "aunt" Jackie... so not a chick.
Seminole 9:09PM (2/07/2009)
I'd take the H1.
I'd run the owner of the Lambo over, then hitch his car up and tow it home with me.
ambientFLIER 1:52PM (2/08/2009)
Women are better drivers? HA. Don't make me laugh. Oh wait, you just did. 99% of the time that I see someone doing something stupid on the road, it's a female. Never mind parking...
tlacaeli 1:53PM (2/09/2009)
Jamie,
http://www.autoblog.com/2009/02/06/south-korean-woman-fails-driving-test-771-times/
Just take a look at the above link.
:P
Mazda FTW! 3:33PM (2/07/2009)
I agree. I used to race from stop-light to stop-light and it used to be frustrating and I barely used to make up much ground (and just burn more fuel and tax my brakes). Nowadays, I use my strategy of "flow". I sit back and instead pick spots opening up and smoothly gain ground by smartly going around idiots and choke points. It's smooth, I never am in danger of getting a speeding ticket and yet I always manage to beat a whole bunch of reds and heavy traffic.
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Berto 3:37PM (2/07/2009)
Wow, so the average driver is more of a dumbass than an ant. Somehow after driving here in the Bay Area I am not surprised.
This brings a whole new level of appreciation of the efficiency and awesomeness of Ant traffic.
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Kimura 3:39PM (2/07/2009)
Yet another species that is more efficient and in some ways at least, smarter than us.
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Nuieve 3:45PM (2/07/2009)
Do you remember the shockwave experiment when a circle of cars running after each other smoothly eventually end up with stop and go?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Suugn-p5C1M
For this reason in a traffic I just keep a distance behind the car in front and instead of surging and stopping I just roll slowly, losing them after they take off but catching up on them at stoplights. This way I don't have to stop, and although I realize some might find me annoying, but I feel driving slowly without having to stop is less irritating than constant stop and goes.
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