Ultimate Swarms Page #3

---

And that's something both animal

swarms and humans have in common.

It's a bizarre phenomenon first

noticed back in 1906

at a county show much like this one.

Ha ha!

Scientists were amazed by what

happens during a simple competition

asking people to guess the weight

of a cow.

When they analysed the results,

not only was the average

of everyone's guesses more accurate

than the winning guess,

it was also a much better guess than

that of the experts who took part.

So today, we're going to put

it to the test

with the help of Zinny here.

We asked a selection of people

at the Royal Bath Show

to guess Zinny's weight.

How accurate will they be as a group

and can they beat one of the pros?

Right, well, the results are in

and all I've got to do now is to add

up all the estimates

from the crowd, get a total,

divide that by the number of people

who guessed...

The answer we get is 588 kilograms.

Now, a livestock expert guessed 584,

so they're very close.

But who's closest?

It's time for the cow to reveal all.

Haven't got her back legs in yet!

Haven't got her back legs in.

595 kilograms. Incredible!

That's just seven kilograms higher

than the group's estimate.

The crowd got it just about spot-on,

and they beat the experts.

It seems many brains

really are better than one,

and that's due to something

known as The Wisdom of the Crowd.

Our highest guess was 1,400 kg,

and our lowest 200 kg.

So, both way off,

but when a crowd works together

the odd crazy guess

doesn't really matter.

And that works for nature, too.

One animal might make a bad

decision,

but unless others have the same

reaction, the swarm isn't fooled.

That's why taking the option to ask

the audience in a game show

is such a smart move.

They get it right about 90%

of the time,

compared with a 65% success rate

from the experts.

It's no wonder swarming has helped

some creatures become

the ultimate decision-makers.

But not all swarms

are about boosting brainpower.

Some are about working together

to solve a problem.

The next stop on my journey

is Christmas Islands,

a tiny volcanic outcrop

in the Indian Ocean.

This dramatic, otherworldly

landscape

is the setting for an extraordinary

swarm on the move.

And right now is the best time

to see it in action.

Oh, my God, that is so...

The island is about to go

into lockdown.

Every year as the monsoon rains

arrive,

60 million red crabs emerge

out of the trees.

A swarm facing the ultimate

challenge.

These land crabs live in a forest.

But like their coastal ancestors,

they're still completely dependent

on the sea to breed.

And between the forest

and the beach

lies a gruelling six-mile treck.

Rate this script:0.0 / 0 votes