concept

Stigmergy

A form of indirect coordination where each individual leaves a trace in the environment, and that trace in turn stimulates and directs the actions of others that come later. Termites build towering mounds with sophisticated ventilation and no blueprint: each worker deposits a pellet of pheromone-laced mud, and the shape and scent of the previous pellet dictate where the next worker places its own. Memory and computation are offloaded into the environment itself - a complex structure grows with no one in charge.