Researchers at University of Michigan recently published paper in which they summarised that complex behaviour of insects is shaped and driven from social environment than brain size. Historically, complex cognitive ability and finer social skills were associated with larger brain size. More and more research now points to the fact that size does not matter when it comes to brain. Researchers found that paper wasps eavesdrop on potential opponents and asses their fighting abilities indirectly through “Social eavesdropping”. Paper wasps has a brain which is million times smaller than human brain. These miniature nervous systems not only help paper wasps perform cognitively challenging tasks, but also helps them learn and remember the traits of other wasps.

Technology is also moving in the same direction as nature is. Google’s TPUs – Tensor Processing Units are simple processors which are only good at one thing. They are low processing/computational in nature but can perform in high volumes. Ever wondered how fast their search engine tries to fill in your words/sentences? Just remember – they learnt from wasps!

• posted on girishnair.com