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Planetary intelligence saves from annihilation
Intelligent can be an individual, but also a collective — an anthill, a termite, a colony of slugs. The entire planet can also be like this, scientists say. And this gives civilization a chance for longevity.
I think, therefore I am. This well-known Cartesian maxim assumes the one-person nature of the thinking subject. I — that is, the human individual. But it is well known that there are also simpler thinking organisms. The phenomenon called intelligence spans a long scale, the lower threshold of which is determined by a handful of neurons, and the upper threshold by… Well, that’s right. After all, not cats, dogs or humans. Maybe communities? Maybe cities? And why not go further?
We’ve known for at least a couple of decades now that intelligence is a feature of more than just individual organisms. It happens that communities are also intelligent. Social insects — ants, bees, termites — make decisions, react rationally to environmental conditions in an attempt to preserve the welfare of the community. Some kind of intelligence is demonstrated by slugs looking for a way out of a maze. Even collective cells or viruses can do this. Researchers from the University of Rochester, the Planetary Science Institute, Arizona State University and the Santa Fe Institute have just published in the International Journal of Astrobiology a kind of…
