Visiting Expert: Anthropologist

Look at an ant colony. What is it's goal?
- to survive
-really? that's it?
-to do what the queen tells it to do.
-but why?
-because... they want to make more of themselves.
-they want to make more of themselves.
-they want to take all the surrounding materials and use them as the nutrients that will allow them to make more of themselves.
-they want everything to be them, they want to be everything.

Now look at humans. What is the goal of the human superorganism?
-i dont think it has one.
-you dont think it has one?
-well, i think that there are multiple colonies of humans competing for homogeneity. Right now, every country, every culture, every religion, every gang, every individual is trying to define their own way of being. Maybe the goal of the human superorganism needs to be identifying it's own purpose. honestly though, i think that we've had the fortune to study the smallest parts of organisms and find rules in the smallest of components.
-So then maybe the goal needs to be fundamental and more biological than cultural. Do we share the same goal as the ant? To make more of ourselves until we make everything us?
-but you can't make everything you because you need enough resources to provide for the continuation of a species.
-there needs to be balance.


An interesting take by PBS...are we 'weedy' enough to thrive in anything?


And...just for fun. Watch this... This video is incredible. It reveals the architecture of an ant colony.

The Internet Has Eyes

Chatroulette.com lets you see what the internet sees. It is the mirror of our collected mind and puts faces on the nodes of our human superorganism.

Basically, how it works is that the site connects you to video/audio/text chat with a "random stranger. Both parties have the option to hit "next" and move on to a new "random stranger."

People don't seem to know what to do with this site yet, how to act, or what new possibilities this opens up to us. While there are definitely some dicks out there (literally and figuratively), mostly people just stare at the person on the other end and hit 'next'. Flipping through humans like you would flip through channels on television. What are they looking for? How do they decide who to give time to... and how do you get somebody to give time to you? The funny thing is that people get really excited when they land on someone they recognize, and the ultimate is spotting a celebrity.

Entire websites are being devoted to chat roulette screenshots. These mostly display the funny/weird chat moments. (guy dressed like cat, scary clown mask, etc.) There are also regular people out there who are connecting and having conversations across the globe with people they might have never interacted with. They get less attention from the blogs, but these interactions are probably more meaningful as they spread information, stories, and culture in a whole new way. We can learn about people's aspriations in a new way too. Yesterday i spoke with a group of engineering students in Ranchi, India who were mostly interested in what kind of car i drove and the sports i played. Now, you probably think i left them completely disappointed, but my explanation of laser tag left them wide-eyed.

Also, hung out with my friend Tom the other night checking out chatroulette. see our misadventures HERE

Bullet Ant Ritual

These rituals could be seen as cultural coping mechanisms for an evolutionary
need. Living in this forest means that getting attacked is a definite
possibility, so a strong tribe is required.

This ritual is a right of passage to become a man. Boys die--but those who
survive become men worthy of passing on their genes.

Makes me wonder, what are the cultural coping mechanisms in my own society?

Somehow this seems connected: Cyber Bullying Led to Teen's Suicide

humans vs animals

Robert Sapolsky: The uniqueness of humans | Video on TED.com