MachineMachine /stream - tagged with mimicry https://machinemachine.net/stream/feed en-us http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss LifePress therourke@gmail.com <![CDATA[Ants mimic liquids to stay afloat]]> http://www.newscientist.com/blogs/nstv/2010/11/fluid-nature-ants-mimic-liquids-to-stay-afloat.html

Rain may seem a harmless nuisance to us humans, but for ants, it's a big deal. They can get trapped by just a single drop and risk drowning. Paradoxically, it's by mimicking liquids that ants manage to conquer them.

In the video above, Micah Streiff and his team from the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta captured writhing groups of ants behaving just like liquids. Working as a group they can turn themselves into a "raft" as they seek dry land or travel down a surface following the same physical rules as a viscous liquid. Thankfully, they haven't been caught mimicking your morning coffee just yet.

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Thu, 25 Nov 2010 03:36:00 -0800 http://www.newscientist.com/blogs/nstv/2010/11/fluid-nature-ants-mimic-liquids-to-stay-afloat.html
<![CDATA[Cargo cult]]> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cargo_cult

A cargo cult is a type of religious practice that may appear in traditional tribal societies in the wake of interaction with technologically advanced cultures. The cults are focused on obtaining the material wealth (the "cargo") of the advanced culture through magical thinking and religious rituals and practices, believing that the wealth was intended for them by their deities and ancestors. Cargo cults developed primarily in remote parts of New Guinea and other Melanesian and Micronesian societies in the southwest Pacific Ocean, beginning with the first significant arrivals of Westerners in the 19th century. Similar behaviors have, however, also appeared elsewhere in the world.

Cargo cult activity in the Pacific region increased significantly during and immediately after World War II, when large amounts of manpower and materials were brought in by the Japanese and American combatants, and this was observed by the residents of these regions. When the war ended, the military bases were

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Fri, 08 Jan 2010 09:51:00 -0800 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cargo_cult