Psychic pair fail scientific test

[pinkmouse]

Originally Posted by Wavebourn

We all can see what can happen, the fascinating question is "Why".

Simple, birds in flocks, (like fish in schools), make life more difficult for predators. It's an evolved response. In order to fly in flocks you need a few simple rules to avoid collisions. A good read on this is Roger Lewin's book.

[Wavebourn]

Originally Posted by pinkmouse

Flocking is what's called an emergent behaviour. All each bird has to do is follow a few simple rules to create what we see. There is no external organising activity needed. Google for "Game of life" to see what can happen in this sort of situation. Fascinating, but not supernatural.

External or internal it does not matter. What matters, some of them are "pre-wired" to organize in such "organisms", twice in an year, some are not. I never saw cats migrating in triangles. The same physics, different behavior. But I saw bees organized differently. And ants. Quite fascinating!

[Wavebourn]

Originally Posted by pinkmouse

It's an evolved response.

Yes, it is a response of the entity called "A flock" that is more than the entity called "A bird".

[pinkmouse]

a) Cats don't migrate
b) Cats don't fly

[SY]

Dennett puts forth the idea of algorithmic processes to create the impression- and the same results- as design. Indeed, with some simple selection rules, a dazzling variety of structures can fall out. Think of a snowflake...

[pinkmouse]

Originally Posted by Wavebourn

Yes, it is a response of the entity called "A flock" that is more than the entity called "A bird".

Only to an external viewpoint. Read the book - it's good.

SY, got a reference?

[SY]

A very accessible and entertaining treatment is "Darwin's Dangerous Idea."

[Wavebourn]

Originally Posted by pinkmouse

a) Cats don't migrate
b) Cats don't fly

I know. But birds do, and when they migrate they are organized on the level that is higher than a singe bird. They act like a single organism.

[Wavebourn]

Originally Posted by SY

A very accessible and entertaining treatment is "Darwin's Dangerous Idea."

It can't be a treatment. It can be an explanation of "how it could happen", but based on Darwin's theory you can't deny that human egregores possess mental properties of higher level than separate human beings. Such properties could be caused by "Dawrin's survival theory" when tribes protected themselves from predators, in order to survive.

[pinkmouse]

Originally Posted by Wavebourn

...but based on Darwin's theory you can't deny that human egregores possess mental properties of higher level than separate human beings...

Hmm. Not sure about that. In my experience groups of humans form committees, and the collective intelligence drops like a stone.