Death Spiral of Ants and Understanding Our Limitations

Ants are simple creatures. Most ants have around 250 thousands brain cells compared to man’s 170 billion cells. Each ant has behavioral algorithm in its nerve cells and they merely respond to ten or so stimuli.

Behavior of ants are mostly sourced from their genes and not from experiences. There are type of ant, when it smells a pheromone given off by a dead ant’s body, immediately responds by cooperating with other ants in carrying the dead body out of the hive.

E. O. Wilson, famous American biologist, conducted an experiments when he painted dead ant pheromone on a live ant. Naturally, the other ants dragged this live ant out of the hive even though it kicked and protested throughout the entire process.

Ants have simple program of responeses that usually work out well in many cases, however, such behavior limits them when patterns are disrupted or manipulated.

There is another phenomenon in some type of ants that display such limitations tragically. Some ants can get caught in a death spiral where they follow each other in a circular pattern until they die of exhaustion. This phenomenon, also known as circular milling or an ant mill, occurs when ants, particularly army ants, lose their pheromone trail and begin following each other, creating a continuous loop.

Even though humans have significantly more brain cells and nural connections in built, they are also limited by certain automatic behaviors. Humans are also social animals just like ants. They conform to groups, panic when everyone else is fearful, become greedy when everyone else is euphoric. Humans can be fooled by certain manipulations which incentivize them to take certain actions. However, one can be aware of these limitations and be more in control than the rest.

Understanding your own limitations and that of others can help you assess your behavior and the stimuli behind such behavior.

In investing, psychological tendencies play a big part. Often great success in investing and many other areas come from adopting contrarian view. When market is filled with participants influenced by general psychological tendencies, one can take different path that can keep him/her out of the loop of irrationality. You don’t have to be the ant who follows the crew. You can break the loop if you know your limitation and that of your own kind. Take a pause to ask if there is a better way or more rational way, especially when such decision has great significance in your life.

Source: Poor Charlie's Almanack