--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The classic example from biology is the…" description: "\"“The classic example from biology is the huge, towerlike structure that is built by some ant and termite species. These structures only emerge when the..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d99/michael-s-gazzaniga-37898_biology_the-classic-example-from-biology-is-the_1035326.jpg" --- # The classic example from biology is the huge, towerlike… ![“The classic example from biology is the huge, towerlike structure that is built by some ant and termite species. These structures only emerge when the ant colony reaches a certain size (more is different) and could never be predicted by studying the behavior of single insects in small colonies.” quote by Michael S. Gazzaniga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d99/michael-s-gazzaniga-37898_biology_the-classic-example-from-biology-is-the_1035326.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d99/michael-s-gazzaniga-37898_biology_the-classic-example-from-biology-is-the_1035326.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d99/michael-s-gazzaniga-37898_biology_the-classic-example-from-biology-is-the_1035326.jpg) > ““The classic example from biology is the huge, towerlike structure that is built by some ant and termite species. These structures only emerge when the ant colony reaches a certain size (more is different) and could never be predicted by studying the behavior of single insects in small colonies.”” [Michael S. Gazzaniga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-s-gazzaniga/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Complex structures arise only when a system reaches a critical size, showing emergent properties. **In simple terms:** Large groups create new, unpredictable structures. Key Takeaway Recognize emergent dynamics in groups. Themes emergence complex systems biology Mood analytical curious Type scientific educational When to use this quote - organizational design - urban planning - ecosystem management Key Concepts collective behavior systems theory Questions to Reflect On - When have you seen small actions lead to big changes? - What limits emergent behavior? A Different Perspective Predicting emergent outcomes remains difficult. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ants](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ants/) [Biology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/biology/) ## Related quotes > [“Imagine what humans could do, if we all worked together like an ant colony...minus the queen.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justin-d-hill/imagine-what-humans-could-do-if-we-all-worked-together-like-an-ant/) Justin D. Hill > [When I was little, I would burn ants with a magnifying glass. But now that I'm older, I'm more of a cat guy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-jeselnik/when-i-was-little-i-would-burn-ants-with-a-magnifying-glass-but-now/) [Anthony Jeselnik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-jeselnik/) > [There's a scientific hypothesis that every person's name is a primary suggestive command that contains the entire script of their life in highly concentrated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-pelevin/there-s-a-scientific-hypothesis-that-every-person-s-name-is-a-primary/) [Victor Pelevin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-pelevin/) > [“Lies are like ants; there's never just one.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-ash/lies-are-like-ants-there-s-never-just-one/) Julia Ash > [When someone criticizes or disagrees with you, a small ant of hatred and antagonism is born in your heart. If you do not squash…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/when-someone-criticizes-or-disagrees-with-you-a-small-ant-of-hatred/) [Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/) > [Albert and I would spend hours and hours looking at them. Cleo had this big magnifying glass on his desk, and we'd find centipedes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fannie-flagg/albert-and-i-would-spend-hours-and-hours-looking-at-them-cleo-had/) [Fannie Flagg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fannie-flagg/) > [Oh, ants, my sisters, good old honeydew-seekers! From close up you are sticky and shiny and gristly; and your nymphs have parasitic red mites…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-t-vollmann/oh-ants-my-sisters-good-old-honeydew-seekers-from-close-up-you-are/) [William T. Vollmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-t-vollmann/) > [We know of no behavior in ants or any other social insects that can be construed as play.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bert-holldobler/we-know-of-no-behavior-in-ants-or-any-other-social-insects-that-can/) [Bert Holldobler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bert-holldobler/) > [“THE FIGHTERS ARE TINY. INSECTS, REALLY. BUT ANTS CAN SLAY AN ELEPHANT, IF THERE ARE ENOUGH OF THEM. ESPECIALLY ANTS ARMED WITH HIGH-YIELD EXPLOSIVES…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amie-kaufman/the-fighters-are-tiny-insects-really-but-ants-can-slay-an-elephant-if/) [Amie Kaufman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amie-kaufman/) > [There's a good case to be made that having fun is a key evolutionary advantage right next to opposable thumbs in terms of importance.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raph-koster/there-s-a-good-case-to-be-made-that-having-fun-is-a-key-evolutionary/) [Raph Koster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raph-koster/) > [“Some people are ants by nature; they have to work, even when it’s useless. Few people have a talent for constructive laziness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/some-people-are-ants-by-nature-they-have-to-work-even-when-it-s/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [People are like ants: Just a few of them give all the orders. And most of them spend their lives getting squashed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/people-are-like-ants-just-a-few-of-them-give-all-the-orders-and-most/) [Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/) > [Pray look upon the plants and birds, the ants, spiders, and bees, and you will see them all exerting their nature, and busy in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/pray-look-upon-the-plants-and-birds-the-ants-spiders-and-bees-and-you/) [Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/) > [Great God of the Ants, thou hast granted victory to thy servants. I appoint thee honorary Colonel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karel-capek/great-god-of-the-ants-thou-hast-granted-victory-to-thy-servants-i/) [Karel Capek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karel-capek/) > [Some people are like ants. Give them a warm day and a piece of ground and they start digging. There the similarity ends. Ants…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hal-borland/some-people-are-like-ants-give-them-a-warm-day-and-a-piece-of-ground/) [Hal Borland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hal-borland/) ## More by Michael S. Gazzaniga > [“John-Dylan Haynes22 and his colleagues expanded Libet’s experiments in 2008 to show that the outcomes of an inclination can be encoded in brain activity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-s-gazzaniga/john-dylan-haynes22-and-his-colleagues-expanded-libet-s-experiments/) [Michael S. Gazzaniga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-s-gazzaniga/) > [“stimulation of the medial frontal cortex gives one the feeling of the urge to move”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-s-gazzaniga/stimulation-of-the-medial-frontal-cortex-gives-one-the-feeling-of-the/) [Michael S. Gazzaniga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-s-gazzaniga/) > [“Baruch Spinoza, who said, “There is no mind absolute or free will, but the mind is determined for willing this or that by a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-s-gazzaniga/baruch-spinoza-who-said-there-is-no-mind-absolute-or-free-will-but/) [Michael S. Gazzaniga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-s-gazzaniga/) > [“Hare and Tomasello think that the social behavior of chimps is constrained by their temperament, and the human temperament is necessary for more complex…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-s-gazzaniga/hare-and-tomasello-think-that-the-social-behavior-of-chimps-is/) [Michael S. Gazzaniga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-s-gazzaniga/) > [“Newton’s laws aren’t fundamental, they are emergent; that is, they are what happens when quantum matter aggregates into macroscopic fluids and objects. It is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-s-gazzaniga/newton-s-laws-aren-t-fundamental-they-are-emergent-that-is-they-are/) [Michael S. Gazzaniga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-s-gazzaniga/) > [“Robert Sapolsky, professor of neurology at Stanford, makes the extremely strong statement: “It’s boggling that the legal system’s gold standard for an insanity defense—M’Naghten—is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-s-gazzaniga/robert-sapolsky-professor-of-neurology-at-stanford-makes-the/) [Michael S. Gazzaniga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-s-gazzaniga/) > [“Chaos doesn’t mean that the system is behaving randomly, it means that it is unpredictable because it has many variables, it is too complex…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-s-gazzaniga/chaos-doesn-t-mean-that-the-system-is-behaving-randomly-it-means-that/) [Michael S. Gazzaniga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-s-gazzaniga/) > [“Reductionism in the physical sciences has been challenged by the principle of emergence. The whole system acquires qualitatively new properties that cannot be predicted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-s-gazzaniga/reductionism-in-the-physical-sciences-has-been-challenged-by-the/) [Michael S. Gazzaniga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-s-gazzaniga/) > [“As evolutionary neurobiologists Leah Krubitzer and Jon Kaas put it, Although the phenotype generated is context-dependent, the ability to respond to the context has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-s-gazzaniga/as-evolutionary-neurobiologists-leah-krubitzer-and-jon-kaas-put-it/) [Michael S. Gazzaniga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-s-gazzaniga/) > [“Young children by age three begin to inhibit some of their naturally altruistic behavior. They become more discriminating about whom they help. They share…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-s-gazzaniga/young-children-by-age-three-begin-to-inhibit-some-of-their-naturally/) [Michael S. Gazzaniga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-s-gazzaniga/) > [“Research has shown that 150–200 people are the number of people that can be controlled without an organizational hierarchy.23 It is the number of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-s-gazzaniga/research-has-shown-that-150-200-people-are-the-number-of-people-that/) [Michael S. Gazzaniga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-s-gazzaniga/) [Explore all 12 Michael S. Gazzaniga quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-s-gazzaniga/) ## More Ants quotes > [Some people are like ants. Give them a warm day and a piece of ground and they start digging. There the similarity ends. Ants…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hal-borland/some-people-are-like-ants-give-them-a-warm-day-and-a-piece-of-ground/) [Hal Borland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hal-borland/) > [Great God of the Ants, thou hast granted victory to thy servants. I appoint thee honorary Colonel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karel-capek/great-god-of-the-ants-thou-hast-granted-victory-to-thy-servants-i/) [Karel Capek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karel-capek/) > [Pray look upon the plants and birds, the ants, spiders, and bees, and you will see them all exerting their nature, and busy in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/pray-look-upon-the-plants-and-birds-the-ants-spiders-and-bees-and-you/) [Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/) > [People are like ants: Just a few of them give all the orders. And most of them spend their lives getting squashed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/people-are-like-ants-just-a-few-of-them-give-all-the-orders-and-most/) [Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/) > [“Some people are ants by nature; they have to work, even when it’s useless. Few people have a talent for constructive laziness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/some-people-are-ants-by-nature-they-have-to-work-even-when-it-s/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [There's a good case to be made that having fun is a key evolutionary advantage right next to opposable thumbs in terms of importance.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raph-koster/there-s-a-good-case-to-be-made-that-having-fun-is-a-key-evolutionary/) [Raph Koster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raph-koster/) > [“THE FIGHTERS ARE TINY. INSECTS, REALLY. BUT ANTS CAN SLAY AN ELEPHANT, IF THERE ARE ENOUGH OF THEM. ESPECIALLY ANTS ARMED WITH HIGH-YIELD EXPLOSIVES…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amie-kaufman/the-fighters-are-tiny-insects-really-but-ants-can-slay-an-elephant-if/) [Amie Kaufman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amie-kaufman/) > [We know of no behavior in ants or any other social insects that can be construed as play.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bert-holldobler/we-know-of-no-behavior-in-ants-or-any-other-social-insects-that-can/) [Bert Holldobler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bert-holldobler/) > [Oh, ants, my sisters, good old honeydew-seekers! From close up you are sticky and shiny and gristly; and your nymphs have parasitic red mites…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-t-vollmann/oh-ants-my-sisters-good-old-honeydew-seekers-from-close-up-you-are/) [William T. Vollmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-t-vollmann/) > [Albert and I would spend hours and hours looking at them. Cleo had this big magnifying glass on his desk, and we'd find centipedes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fannie-flagg/albert-and-i-would-spend-hours-and-hours-looking-at-them-cleo-had/) [Fannie Flagg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fannie-flagg/) > [When someone criticizes or disagrees with you, a small ant of hatred and antagonism is born in your heart. If you do not squash…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/when-someone-criticizes-or-disagrees-with-you-a-small-ant-of-hatred/) [Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/) > [“Lies are like ants; there's never just one.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-ash/lies-are-like-ants-there-s-never-just-one/) Julia Ash > [There's a scientific hypothesis that every person's name is a primary suggestive command that contains the entire script of their life in highly concentrated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-pelevin/there-s-a-scientific-hypothesis-that-every-person-s-name-is-a-primary/) [Victor Pelevin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-pelevin/) > [When I was little, I would burn ants with a magnifying glass. But now that I'm older, I'm more of a cat guy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-jeselnik/when-i-was-little-i-would-burn-ants-with-a-magnifying-glass-but-now/) [Anthony Jeselnik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-jeselnik/) > [If ants were the size of humans, they would be able to run twice as fast as a Lamborghini.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-ants-were-the-size-of-humans-they-would-be-able-to-run-twice-as/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 499 Ants quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ants/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The classic example from biology is the huge, towerlike structure that is built by some ant and termite species. 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