This insight is as least as old as Darwin, isn't it? I had
thought that Darwin used this notion to explain why bees
did things clearly not in their own individual interest
(such as stinging and thereby killing themselves) but which
were in the interest of the hive as a whole.
Just a thought- I'd love to read more about latest views on it.
Phil Wood
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>
> Hello everyone,
>
> Can anyone provide information regarding a book that was published a couple
> of years ago out of Cornell University that made the argument that the hive
> can be seen as an autonomous being - a "superorganism". The idea being that
> a hive expresses all the same characteristics as a normal organism might. I
> saw one of the authors give a talk a few years back on the subject and have
> yet to see or hear of the book. Has anyone got any information they could share?
>
> Cheers John Volpe
> -----------------------------------------------------------
> John Volpe
> Marine and Aquatic Sciences Section
> Centre for Environmental Health
> University of Victoria
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>