Constellation: Software's Superorganism | The Generalist

Life in the order Hymenoptera is a social one, with identity and endeavor consolidated at the collective rather than individual level. The ant as a solitary being effectively doesn't exist. Instead, it's part of a larger entity, a cell in a vast superorganism. Coined by Darwin contemporary Herbert Spencer (author of the expression "survival of the fittest"), the term "superorganism" has progressed from a hazy term referring to the emergent behavior of groups to an increasingly concrete classifier of creatures composed of a plurality. The coral reef is a superorganism; so too, the cloud of bees or swarm of ants. These miniature cultures' efficacy is remarkable — groupings with as many as 20 million members coordinate to undertake projects in pursuit of the collective good, creating dwellings, finding food, or warding off predators. Divisions of labor are encoded biologically and communicated chemically. While there's undoubtedly a hierarchy — with queens at the apex — there's considerab

Life in the order Hymenoptera is a social one, with identity and endeavor consolidated at the collective rather than individual level. The ant as a solitary being effectively doesn't exist. Instead, it's part of a larger entity, a cell in a vast superorganism. Coined by Darwin contemporary Herbert Spencer (author of the expression "survival of the fittest"), the term "superorganism" has progressed from a hazy term referring to the emergent behavior of groups to an increasingly concrete classifier of creatures composed of a plurality. The coral reef is a superorganism; so too, the cloud of bees