Received: by alpheratz.cpm.aca.mmu.ac.uk id WAA14792 (8.6.9/5.3[ref pg@gmsl.co.uk] for cpm.aca.mmu.ac.uk from fmb-majordomo@mmu.ac.uk); Fri, 10 Aug 2001 22:14:08 +0100 From: <joedees@bellsouth.net> To: memetics@mmu.ac.uk Date: Fri, 10 Aug 2001 16:18:07 -0500 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT Subject: RE: Logic + universal evolution Message-ID: <3B74093F.13738.13C935D@localhost> In-reply-to: <NEBBKOADILIOKGDJLPMAOEGFCFAA.debivort@umd5.umd.edu> References: <3B7401F4.29588.1201585@localhost> X-mailer: Pegasus Mail for Win32 (v3.12c) Sender: fmb-majordomo@mmu.ac.uk Precedence: bulk Reply-To: memetics@mmu.ac.uk
On 10 Aug 2001, at 16:53, Lawrence DeBivort wrote:
>
> > > Obviously. The question is how the birds manage to maintain the
> > > right distance, particularly when the whole flock turns on a dime.
> > > Either the brain is running an incredbly elaborate motion program
> > > or the flock is a morphic field in which the birds are
> > > "particles." While the latter possibility might strike you as
> > > being "weird," the former possibility would require neural
> > > computing processes unimaginably more powerful and rapid than
> > > anything humans have ever devised.
> > >
> > No, just rapid reaction time, and the reaction times of birds, like
> > their heartbeats, are a lot faster than ours, crerating the illusion
> > that they are all changing direction at the same time when actually
> > there is a small reaction time involved.
>
> It may also be that:
> 1) the birds communicate their intention before they execute their
> flock behavior 2) they are each 'reading' the same external stimulus
> that causes the flock behavior, so they execute it together with
> little computational activity required for the coordination of the
> behavior.
>
Most likely a synergy of two or three of these.
>
> - Lawrence
>
>
> ===============================================================
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===============================================================
This was distributed via the memetics list associated with the
Journal of Memetics - Evolutionary Models of Information Transmission
For information about the journal and the list (e.g. unsubscribing)
see: http://www.cpm.mmu.ac.uk/jom-emit
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