Consider the Slime Mold: How Amoebas Form Social Networks
“It turns out we’re not the only species that assembles ourselves into networks,” says sociologist and physician Nicholas Christakis.
Sign up for Big Think on Substack
The most surprising and impactful new stories delivered to your inbox every week, for free.
What’s the Big Idea?
“It turns out we’re not the only species that assembles ourselves into networks,” says physician and sociologist Nicholas Christakis in his Floating University lecture, “If You’re So Free, Why Do You Follow Others?” Consider the slime mold, for instance. When placed in a maze with food at the end of it, individual amoebas will connect to create a sort of “super organism” capable of performing feats that no single organism could do on its own.
Sign up for Big Think on Substack
The most surprising and impactful new stories delivered to your inbox every week, for free.
