Beyond Code

Chapter 9

Coordination Without Dialogue

A termite mound in sub-Saharan Africa can stand four meters tall, maintain a stable internal temperature within one degree Celsius despite forty-degree daily swings outside, circulate air through a ventilation system that rivals modern HVAC design, and house several million individuals operating in complete coordination. No termite understands the structure. No termite has a blueprint. No termite communicates with more than a handful of neighbors, and those communications consist of chemical signals deposited on surfaces, not conversations about the architectural plan. Each termite responds to local conditions: the concentration of pheromones on a surface, the humidity of the air, the presence or absence ...