X-Message-Number: 8548
Date: Sat, 6 Sep 1997 14:51:52 -0400 (EDT)
From: The Hitman <>
Subject: Intelligence and Ants

I just have a question for anyone out there who has read 
'Godel, Escher, Bach:'.  In this book (which I am now in the middle
of the author (D.R. Hofstadter) in one of the Dialogues attributes
intelligence to an ant collony and explains how the functioning of it
can be mapped onto the functioning of a brain on a high level.  He does
not attribute any intelligence to the individual ants but only as a whole
much as not many people would consider an individial neuron intellingent.

I was wondering about peoples opinions of this.  Obviously an ant colony
could never pass the Turing test but as someone pointed out before, a
difference in language (i.e. someone who doesn't speak english) wouldn't 
be able to pass either if the questioner only spoke english.  

The next question is of coarse if you can attribute intelligence to an
ant colony can you also attribute Consciousness?  

For those who haven't read the book but can get their hands on it,
I am refering to the "... Ant Fugue" pages 311-336..


------------------------------------------------
Brett Corlett

Faculty of Engineering, Carleton University
Suspension and Steering Team Leader, Formula SAE

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