It's easy to get caught up in complexity especially when you are peering into a system that has a dynamic flow. Each system has rules that structure the related activities or functions of the system and these rules can be hard or soft. For physical systems like transportation and athletic events the nature of physical form that is built into the players, agents or vehicles make what we know about the system understandable and give it meaning.
For one thing the physicality of the players in the system are easily perceived... they are ants carrying leaves to the nest or waste from the nest. The transport system they have is elegant and oriented toward the needs of the system rather than the individual, so ants bringing back food material have priority in the flow. And although there is physical contact between moving ants... this is not really the informational system that balances the related traffic flows. The ants use pheromone based chemical messaging to transfer relevant information about direction and flow. Not being the expert on this topic I have to assume that each ant is a message sender and receiver in the broader leafcutter communication network (some colonies have as may as 2 to 3 million members).
So the number of connections in the system that allow for input and output is potentially massive. When I compare this to human systems related to team based organization it appears to be on a parallel with emerging social media tools where individuals become part of a collaborative dynamic rather than soloists. Thinking about how humans respond to new obstacles or challenges (business, athletic, societal), there are hints found in the leafcutter's system that could be of help. The primary hint from the leafcutter ant is that the quantity of informational inputs, the number of individual agents sensing conditions in the real world and channeling this data into the system, is a critical component that shapes the strength of the system.
In our attempts to grapple with complexity in the human space... we should be open to include elegant solutions found in nature that are the product of millions of years of evolution. The leafcutter's systems are collaborative and its solutions are symbiotic; our efforts to open input channels and share data through made-made systems should incorporate some of this thinking. At the very least, if we use examples like the leafcutter ant where nature has been busy working to refine how things fit together it can help reduce the complexities we come across everyday.
If car drivers on roadways could share relevant travel data... our roads would become safer and more efficient. We simply are not all rushing to the hospital with an emergency and we are not all late for work so why not somehow share this data. In sporting event, teams are working together and officials (referees) are working to uphold the rules and so why not begin integrating communication technology into these activity to make the experience richer. Constraining officials to only work from what their vision can identify is too limiting... and I would suggest the same is the case for performing athletes like soccer players who must shout or see each other to work together (why not allow them to have a small ear-piece and small microphone to chat while playing as way to elevate game strategy :)) And as we are seeing with the emerging popularity of collaborative media within organizations there is much opportunity to open the channels of communication such that individuals can make more timely and relevant contributions to the success of the operation or established objectives. This doesn't have to twitter or facebook, any practical collaboration tool can be useful.
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