January 29, 2008
Animal Architects
Elisabeth Herschbach reviews Animal Architects: Building and the Evolution of Intelligence by James L. Gould, in Metapsychology Online Reviews:
Termites -- tiny, blind creatures less than 1/10th of an inch in size-- build towering 20-foot-high structures equipped with wells and waste dumps, gardens and nurseries, and even complicated systems of air ducts and ventilation shafts for climate control. Hummingbirds fashion hammock nests from bits of bark, lichen, and downy moss woven together with spiderweb silk. Beavers, those master engineers of the rodent world, construct underwater lodges and ingeniously designed dams and canals to control the water flow of the rivers, streams, and lakes where they reside. And countless other species of animals produce webs, hives, cocoons, burrows, lairs, nests, and even tools that, especially given the size and nature of the builders, are marvels of construction and design. (Consider, for example, that on a human scale, the 20-foot tower of a termite would be the equivalent of nearly three miles high, far surpassing our tallest skyscraper.)
More here.
Posted by Abbas Raza at 11:47 PM | Permalink
Comments
Termites... Rodents?
Posted by: Delix E. F. Larocca MD | Jan 30, 2008 6:40:49 AM
Consider, for example, that on a human scale, the 20-foot tower of a termite would be the equivalent of nearly three miles high, far surpassing our tallest skyscraper.
This makes for good press, but is misleading. The ratio of building size to builder size isn't all that informative. To jog this intuition, let me suggest that we wouldn't in fact find it easier to build twenty five mile high skyscrapers if we were three hundred feet tall. What matters is the strength of material required, the technical know-how, etc. Erecting a structure weighing a million tons up on sandy, earthquake prone ground simply is a lot harder than stacking up mud twenty feet high on a grassland. The fact that tiny insects the size of a grain of rice can do the latter is indeed incredible, but let's not exaggerate.
Posted by: d | Jan 30, 2008 6:53:36 AM
... and then there are the human animals ...
Posted by: SB | Jan 30, 2008 2:48:46 PM
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