Alt-BEAM Archive

Message #03601



To: "BEAM Mail" beam@corp.sgi.com
From: "Nigel Joyce" nigel.joyce@qr.com.au
Date: Thu, 20 May 1999 14:33:18 +1000
Subject: Evolution Comparison


> Nigel Joyce wrote:
>
> Hey Guys and Gals, (Do we have any girls on this list?)
> I was just thinking of an interesting parallel, Religion
> aside, it took God millions of years to "develop" us, and when we
> play God and develop ALife, if there was just 1 of us, having to
> develop electricity,electronics,computers,components, etc. it would
> probably take a few million years as well. BUT, working as a
> collective (watch those borg terms) It has taken humans what 50-100
> years to discover and develop to the stage we are at now. Take a
> macro view and the human race is just a very big hive with the Cities
> as our nests and Countries as our Hives, we have the infighting
> between different hives ie. Wars, the unproductive drones ie. Those
> who are too lazy to work, the "Queens", ie. the leaders of our
> respective countries. And regardless of how you look at it, in
> working for ourselves, we are working to better the "Hive". Plumbers,
> when they fix a drip in your tap, are improving the Water
> infrastructure of the Hive, Farmers are just like advanced
> hunter/gatherers of the insect world, Technology people are working
> to extend the hive, Space Exploration, which alot of our fun sort of
> leads towards, is an attempt to extend our hives boundaries, if we
> could, would we not go off and colonise another world, just like a bee
> swarm? The comparison I am trying to make is between a "hive" of
> humans being more effective than just 1 human or even God, and a hive
> of bots being more effective than one complex bot, which is where the
> micro/nano bot research is headed.
> Sort of removes your individuality to think of yourself as part of the
> human hive or collective, doesn't it.
> You can draw further comparisons between the lifespan and achievements
> of individuals in the insect world compared to the lifespan and
> achievements of the hive, then compare that to the human hive, your
> achievements and the achievements of humans as a whole. Scary isn't
> it. I mean, as we go about our daily lives, we swear to ourselves
> that we are not working for the good of the human race, but are
> working for ourselves, ever heard the expression "productive member of
> the community". I wonder if bees and ants act as individuals, may be
> even see themselves as individuals (this is probably reaching) and are
> only going about their daily lives with no thought to the "Good of the
> hive".
>
> OK, Ok, time for me to come back to reality for a while, (and get
> back to work, "for the good of the hive" };-) )
> Cya's later
> &
> Blue Skies
> ---Buzz---
> Home is where you hang your @

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