King Solomon and the Ant
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So, the king bent over and the ant queen climbed on to his hand. He lifted her up so they could speak eye to eye.
"These are my daughters and colony." She explained. "Your soldiers would have trampled them. I do not 'disparage' I give factual warnings."
And Solomon could see the sense in this. He found it amusing somehow, that the queen was so self-possessed.
"Ant Queen, who do you think is the most magnificent in these lands?" he asked.
The ant queen seemed to think about it for a bit. 4/
"I suppose I must be. I am responsible for many thousands and must guide them past perils like the feet of your soldiers!" Said the ant.
Solomon laughed at this but the ant queen did not join him.
"But you are tiny!" he tried to explain. "How could you be greater than a King like me?"
"We are more alike than not." Said the ant "And anyway, who is resting on the hand of the great King? It is I, isn't it?"
She said.
5/
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"I suppose I must be. I am responsible for many thousands and must guide them past perils like the feet of your soldiers!" Said the ant.
Solomon laughed at this but the ant queen did not join him.
"But you are tiny!" he tried to explain. "How could you be greater than a King like me?"
"We are more alike than not." Said the ant "And anyway, who is resting on the hand of the great King? It is I, isn't it?"
She said.
5/
Solomon told his soldiers to walk with more care and let the queen go back to her people.
After that, as he looked down from his flying carpet at the tiny rows of his own men, he found he had much to contemplate.
He might be magnificent, but on whose palm did he rest? Would any of his works or achievements be anything if not for nature and the world made by God?
The End.
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Solomon told his soldiers to walk with more care and let the queen go back to her people.
After that, as he looked down from his flying carpet at the tiny rows of his own men, he found he had much to contemplate.
He might be magnificent, but on whose palm did he rest? Would any of his works or achievements be anything if not for nature and the world made by God?
The End.
Commentary:
In reality ant queens don't lead their people much at all. But, I don't think the story works unless Solomon encounters a tiny version of himself.
I do think ant queens feel immense responsibly to lay eggs. And all ants think they are doing the most important project in the world. The scale of the adversaries only proves this more.
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F myrmepropagandist shared this topic
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Commentary:
In reality ant queens don't lead their people much at all. But, I don't think the story works unless Solomon encounters a tiny version of himself.
I do think ant queens feel immense responsibly to lay eggs. And all ants think they are doing the most important project in the world. The scale of the adversaries only proves this more.
There are many stories and traditions about "the great king gets perspective"... I also like the tradition that if you were some great Roman general being cheered by a crowd you should have a guy who follows you about whispering "memento mori*" in your ear.
These are things we have understood for a long time in many human cultures.
Now why am I going on about this and feeling exasperated? Hm.
*remember you will someday die
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There are many stories and traditions about "the great king gets perspective"... I also like the tradition that if you were some great Roman general being cheered by a crowd you should have a guy who follows you about whispering "memento mori*" in your ear.
These are things we have understood for a long time in many human cultures.
Now why am I going on about this and feeling exasperated? Hm.
*remember you will someday die
@futurebird Every good army lives and fights by it's Sergeants.
Royalty is a drag on any economy, even a non-capitalist economy.
Reproduction is just one of the criteria for life, but energy transfer, response to stimuli, homeostasis, movement, can only be accomplished by adult workers.
If you consider the colony to be a single animal, the queen is the uterus, important, sure, but no one thnks the uterus is the only driver of the animal. The workers are the brains, AND the hands.
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@futurebird Every good army lives and fights by it's Sergeants.
Royalty is a drag on any economy, even a non-capitalist economy.
Reproduction is just one of the criteria for life, but energy transfer, response to stimuli, homeostasis, movement, can only be accomplished by adult workers.
If you consider the colony to be a single animal, the queen is the uterus, important, sure, but no one thnks the uterus is the only driver of the animal. The workers are the brains, AND the hands.
@futurebird But if you look at the older workers, or majors, there is no sign of central authority, is there? DO you see one or two, older, senior ants running around tapping the others telling them what to do? I don't know but I doubt it.
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@futurebird But if you look at the older workers, or majors, there is no sign of central authority, is there? DO you see one or two, older, senior ants running around tapping the others telling them what to do? I don't know but I doubt it.
Older more experienced ants will take charge and heard others. Or simply ants that feel they have better information.
If an ant *really* wants another ant to come to a location and she isn't following she may pick her sister up and simply carry her to the task or problem she wants help with.
(I sometimes wish someone would do this with me.)
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@futurebird But if you look at the older workers, or majors, there is no sign of central authority, is there? DO you see one or two, older, senior ants running around tapping the others telling them what to do? I don't know but I doubt it.
@futurebird I think my point is the same as yours though... who or what is really in charge? At ANY level? Do we know? Are we sure? Why? Because some people voted for him and others are doing it? Because he's laying a BUNCH of eggs?
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@futurebird But if you look at the older workers, or majors, there is no sign of central authority, is there? DO you see one or two, older, senior ants running around tapping the others telling them what to do? I don't know but I doubt it.
But "ant leadership" is very small and local. Maybe one ant leads five or six sisters at most.
But never any large portion of the whole colony. That is a network.
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@futurebird I think my point is the same as yours though... who or what is really in charge? At ANY level? Do we know? Are we sure? Why? Because some people voted for him and others are doing it? Because he's laying a BUNCH of eggs?
Is that why everyone kept talking about eggs during the last election?
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Older more experienced ants will take charge and heard others. Or simply ants that feel they have better information.
If an ant *really* wants another ant to come to a location and she isn't following she may pick her sister up and simply carry her to the task or problem she wants help with.
(I sometimes wish someone would do this with me.)
Do two ants ever try to pick each other up?
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Do two ants ever try to pick each other up?
I have not seen ants trying to pick each other up, but I did see two minums fighting over who would carry a much younger (and much larger) major somewhere. They both were struggling to move her since she was so much larger, but if one would rest the other would take the big ant's mandible and run off with her as the other one followed.
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Older more experienced ants will take charge and heard others. Or simply ants that feel they have better information.
If an ant *really* wants another ant to come to a location and she isn't following she may pick her sister up and simply carry her to the task or problem she wants help with.
(I sometimes wish someone would do this with me.)
Aren't there a few species of ant that are migratory?
Someone must be leading them? I assume not the queen because that would be reckless, but there's got to be someone at the front of the line.
Anyway, we should find that ant. See if she's got any advice for the rest of us.
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Aren't there a few species of ant that are migratory?
Someone must be leading them? I assume not the queen because that would be reckless, but there's got to be someone at the front of the line.
Anyway, we should find that ant. See if she's got any advice for the rest of us.
Wrong Answer: There is no "lead ant" since the river of ants extends all the way around the world and it never ends. BEHOLD!
