The Formidable Formicidae; or What We Can Learn From Ants

"Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood. Now is the time to understand more, so that we may fear less." - Marie Curie

Ants. They freak us out. Such a tiny little creature and we drop everything we're doing just to spray them with Raid, sweep them away, and even smash them. They are resilient little bastards. But the next time you think about doing the above, STOP and think for a moment. Remember this awesome post about why humans and ants have much more in common than we think.

Here are a few reasons:

1. Ants are social creatures. They have divisions of labor, communication between individuals, and ability to solve complex problems.

2. Ants collect, store, and share food. They have share food amongst themselves in the "social stomach". That is by far the most wonderful (and time-consuming) purposes of the human experience. Eat or die!

3. Female ants collect sperm and use it for later use. This one isn't the most obvious, but it reflects society and the displacement of the masculine figure (more on that another time). Weird.

4. Ants communicate by leaving pheromones. This is close to how human beings communicate through body language. We don't have to say many words to each other in order to say what we mean. We simply "sense" what another person wants or needs from us.

5. Ants are great students and teachers. Many animals can learn behaviours by imitation but ants may be the only group apart from mammals where interactive teaching has been observed. Humans go to school and have structured learning because without guidance, we don't develop a sense of purpose.

6. Ants are like Rachel Ray, Frank Lloyd Wright, and Muhammad Ali all in one package.The ant head has two strong jaws, the mandibles, used to carry food, manipulate objects, construct nests, and for defense. Humans have hands to carry out the same exact tasks.

7. Ants are like the Jay-Z's of the animal world because they HUSTLE. Next to flies, ants are the very first on the scene when fresh food is left unattended. We've all heard Mom say, "put that away before the ants get to it." They work and they work fast. Have you ever seen how fast ants clean off a rib?!

8. Ants are "eusocial", or the highest level of social cooperation. Humans build everything from tents to skyscrapers, some ants build colonies out of the ants THEMSELVES! Think about a time where you felt happy accomplishing something with cooperation. It was probably great because someone was there to SHARE that experience with you. And if it was teamwork, you often have a memory to share of the struggle. (This is exactly why I love CrossFit. It is hard work and can be a transforming experience when you're doing it with a friend.)

The moral of the story here is all ants have their purpose in the hive. If we are honest with ourselves, humans live the same way. We are social creatures that create hives known as "cities". In many fables ants are shown for their industriousness and cooperative efforts. Humans have worked together to achieve and overcome monumental events, and yet we are in such a sad state of affairs internationally. Indeed humans have much to learn in the Tao of the Ant...

So, go "DO WORK SON (together)!"