Organization & Coordination Flashcards
what is a pattern
a definite arrangment of objects in space and time
can be biological (school of fish)
inanimate (dirt)
what are pattern formation processes
going from a simple rule to a complex process
external: i.e. a soccer team
internal: self organized using local information
e.g. termites: add soil (rule 1); rule 2 if cement add more, rule 3 if center established this will be royal room
elements of self organizing systems
leadership
blueprint
recipe
model (template)
feedback loops (negative, positive, threshold)
LEADERSHIP
central authority; overarching information and member instruction
i.e. matriarchal elephant or duckling following mom
limit: needs good communication and a sophisticated central planner—> all burden placed on 1 individual
not good for large groups
blueprint (plan)
the ‘what’
no cognigition required
limit:
every individual given a genetic blueprint–> but hard to understand how coding becomes an instruction as coding is also costly
if animals all have same blueprint; same goal/behaviour should be there
recipe
genetically programmed behaviour sequences; the how and what
no cognition required
step by step instructions
decentralized control (no leader)
i.e. spider makes a web
limit: no flexibllity, only for solitary individuals; not good for group building and cooperation
template (model)
ready to use, idea-centered
rna to dna transcription processes
i..e bird builds a nest using its own wing length
limit: not always available, not flexible, ‘from scatch’ idea
examples of self organizing biological systems
fish schools (speed and porition of neighbours)
bees clustering together in winter (metabolism and temperature; move to regulate)
lions hunting (when hungry go hunt)
ant trails (find food; return to nest and lay chemical trail, if you find trail follow others)
how to study self organization
using models and computer simulations
ideal computer simulations —> limits?
bottom up based ideal but this requires a detailed emptirical study of individuals within a
more likely things are unknown, hence models better for PREDICTIONS but not ULTIMATE
misconceptions about studying models
- models created not based on data–> they GUIDE predictions of unknowns
- self organizign models predicting better than human mind as human minds bad at predictions in large group (intuition)
- simplifies nature
- complex structures dont require complex rules
- dont ahve scientific basis; more of a rule of thumb
what creates self organization in biological systems
negative feedback loops (homeostatis)
positive feedback
response thresholds
negative feedback loops
homeostatis; physiologically led
regulates unwanted flucutations in a living system i.e. temperature blood sugar
inhibition
positive feedback
creates pattrens; promotes changes in a system
‘stimgery’ lead; local environment and work in processs
leads to snowball effects
e/g/ aggregation of birds; i nest wher eyou nest untilll overcrowded…. negative loops start
response threshold
when a stimulus reaches a thresholdd; change behaviour
e.g. bumble bee ‘fanning’ when hot; division of labour depending on an individuals’ threshold leads to SPECIALISTS
individuals ahve different thresholds (epigenetic/genetic)–> i.e. in mice age sex persoality impacts their role
what is the coordination of behaviour
how individual behaviour leads to collective group behaviour despite interindividual conflicts
i.e. hunt coordination
what methods can one use to study group coordination
- agent based models
- game theory
- RLS data
agent based models
computer simulations of self organizing models (reylolds 1986)
‘together but apart’:
separation–> avoid crowding
alignment–> steer in concspecific direction
cohesion–>r emain close
game theory
coordination of social dillemnas such as:
battle of the sexes
tragedy of the commons
RLS data examples
chimps decide when and where to travel together
chacma baboons take up to 3 hours to move
honey bees find new nest sites using scouts and majority dancing= positive feedback loop (quorom method)
if interests overlap… decisions are made (local and global)
local: self organized
global: quorum
if interests diverge… decisions are made (local and global)
local: avoid
global: consensus–>
consistent leadership –> unshared
/distributed leadership–> shared or partially shared
local and global variables in coordinated behaviour
local: internal state and information on neighbours
global: environmental information
example of coordinated behaviour
coordinated hunting; group intiation, cohesion
LIONS: lion hungry—> motivate hunt as others get hungry (no cognition)
CHIMPS: different roles (abushers, blocker, driver, chaser) that are age-dependent and require different cognitive skills
i.e. chaser needs awareness of distance and speed, driver needs to understand direction of external entity and anticipate route—> connotes an understanding of self and global language of the environment
