The Myth of the Ant Queen

“Phenomenon” is defined as a fact or situation that is observed to exist or happen, especially one whose cause or explanation is in question. At the beginning of the text, the ants’ creation of their colony is described as a phenomenon, as they intelligently incorporate many useful ideas into shaping their colony to produce the most efficient society possible. Johnson is amazed by this, and is quoted asking, “It just sort of happened, right?”

As the passage goes on, Johnson introduces examples of similar societies that developed complex systems seemingly without any thought -- the most highlighted of these examples being Manchester, England. By comparing the ants’ colony to the development of the town of Manchester, Johnson is able to hypothesize how the ants are able to construct such an intricate society. At the bottom of page 199, Johnson notes, “You don’t need regulations and city planners deliberately creating these structures. All you need are thousands of individuals and a few simple rules of interaction.” Johnson furthers his point by pointing out a few examples, such as what is now called the “Gay Village” of Manchester, where a century ago, homosexuals would visit to meet other homosexuals, giving the area a reputation of a nesting ground for gay culture.

After going reading about the ways that Manchester was able to spring up with little to no planning, disproving the idea that the city grew to be the powerhouse it is today, seemingly because it “just sort of happened”, it became more clear as to how a similar progression could occur in the ants’ colony to create such a well-developed society. The ants have social roles and generalities that are common knowledge to them, and the interactions that are required to maintain these roles and generalities within the colony lead the ants to produce certain societal functions and processes. So while the beginning of the passage presented the ants’ colony as a phenomenon, it’s apparent that there isn’t as much question to the explanation of how they were able to do it as was thought.