It's All About The Ants

So on Thursday when we were listening to the podcast about ants... I remembered a monologue my friend Logan performed. It was from On The Open Road by Steve Tesich. Unfortunately, I did find it on the internet but am unable to copy and paste onto here... but here is the link....

http://books.google.com/books?id=DrpUW_j-4rcC&pg=PA93&lpg=PA93&dq=scum+of+the+earth+monologue&source=bl&ots=Yszpl_kCX8&sig=_S7KKL4O8RQdaMW6Mk9_K2LiXNo&hl=en&ei=LAejSYnoIdeitgeBiJSIDQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=1&ct=result#PPA93,M1

Anyway, the part of the monologue that sticks out in my mind is as follows:
"...I know what I'm thinking, but I'm trying not to think it, cause it's no good thinking such thoughts. But then I hear it. It's like I hear the other scum of the earth there thinking the same thing. And suddenly it's a much bigger thought. It's like Ants. I read in this nature magazine once that ants don't have brains and that ants don't talk unless there's enough of them that get together. Two ants got nothing to say to each other. They don't know what to do. But if a few hundred of them get together, a brain is born...."

I really like this metaphor, this imagery of a bunch of ants or people getting together to form "a much bigger thought." I do think ants show some creativity. They certainly problem solve and it may take them a while to figure out where to move the stick or whatever it is they are doing but they still come up with a solution. Many come up with the solution. Not just one. I think this is the same for humans. It's all group creativity. One groupmind. We share similar thoughts and then different people will branch out in different directions depending on what triggers in their brain after listening to those thoughts. Until finally, something is agreed upon. Groups can go further with creativity than an individual. Everyone builds on top of each other's thoughts.