Cohousing-L Mailing List: Individual vs Group Collaboration

[Sharon Villines (sharon]

Video: Ants Outsmart Humans in Epic Maze Showdown

https://scitechdaily.com/video-ants-outsmart-humans-in-epic-maze-showdown/

> Ants and humans competed in navigating a maze with a large load. While humans 
> outperformed individually, ant groups excelled collectively, showing 
> strategic coordination and persistence. The study highlights the superior 
> cooperation within ant colonies compared to human groups.

The task involved physically moving an object through a complicated space. But 
the results might also be relevant to decision-making. 
In the human groups, something triggered short-term fixes rather than more 
workable solutions. The short-term fixes just lengthened the time required to 
complete the task. Perhaps humans in groups became more competitive than 
cooperative.

The theory of consensus is that a large group produces solutions based on more 
information. But while more information might be available, resolving the 
problems might be better done in a small cooperating group.

Sharon
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Sharon Villines
Takoma Village Cohousing, Washington DC
http://www.takomavillage.org