granadesnhorseshoes t1_itgr6kf wrote on October 23, 2022 at 3:11 PM

Reply to comment by so_good_so_far in Formation of Namibia’s fairy circles isn’t due to termites. Plants are "ecosystem engineers" that survive by forming optimal geometric patterns. by marketrent

I mean, kinda, right? We call fire "alive" even when we know it isn't strictly alive. I'm willing to buy plant "intelligence" in roughly the same kinda-but-not capacity.

Test19s t1_ith6cqt wrote on October 23, 2022 at 4:56 PM

It’s called metaphor

sock_templar t1_itgtgml wrote on October 23, 2022 at 3:27 PM

We call it alive because it's a technical term. Same as we say live wire for wires with electricity.

Not that we mean the fire acts like it has a life of it's own.

Semantics matter.

MacadamiaMarquess t1_ith0d57 wrote on October 23, 2022 at 4:15 PM

It’s the same thing here though. He’s calling it swarm intelligence because swarm intelligence is a niche technical term.

Semantics matter in both cases.

Hippiebigbuckle t1_ith0reo wrote on October 23, 2022 at 4:18 PM

>Semantics matter.

They do.

> it's a technical term. Same as we say live wire for wires with electricity.

That is not a technical term. A technical term for that situation would be a closed circuit or an energized circuit.

> Not that we mean the fire acts like it has a life of it's own.

Is it Opposite Day? That’s exactly where the term comes from.