Stigmergic Iteration

Pierre-Paul Grassé invented the word 'stigmergy' in 1959. Grassé, a French biologist, needed a new word to describe the self-organization that he was witnessing as termites constructed their nests.

The word is derived from the Greek words στίγμα stigma "mark, sign" and ἔργον ergon "work, action".

>Stigmergy is a form of self-organization. It produces complex, seemingly intelligent structures, without need for any planning, control, or even direct communication between the agents. > As such it supports efficient collaboration between extremely simple agents, who may lack memory or individual awareness of each other. wikipedia

This concept goes a long way to explain the rise of open source software and collective wikis such as wikipedia. Others have suggested that social movements such as the Occupy Movement can also be described through this model.

We recognize that this behavior is inherent in an Autopoietic Systems, as one ventures forth from one concept to the next in iterative learning cycles, exploring through Epistemic Foraging that then leads to a new understanding in an ever evolving semantic network inherent in Natural Order.

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