Deborah Gordon: How Do Ants Know What To Do?

This is an old TED Talk, from 2003, that was just posted this month.

Armed with a backhoe and a handful of markers, Deborah Gordon studies ant colonies in the Arizona desert. She asks: How do these chitinous creatures get down to business -- and even multitask when they need to -- with no language, memory or visible leadership? Her answers could lead to a better understanding of all complex systems, from the brain to the Web.

Tags: Deborah Gordon, How Do Ants Know What To Do?, TED Talks, ant colonies, organizations, systems, biology, science, evolution, nature