Humans Lose to Ants in Group Problem Solving
the tables have turned: a situation has changed so that the advantage is now with the other side
Ants just proved they can outsmart people. A team of researchers in Israel asked both ants and humans to move a large object through a maze. The mazes were built to match the size of each species, but the challenge was the same
When working alone, humans were stronger. They used planning and strategy to move the object through the tight spaces. But in larger groups, the tables turned. Ant teams of about 80 worked together smoothly and finished the task faster than human teams. They showed amazing cooperation and avoided repeating mistakes as if they shared a collective memory.
Human groups did not perform better than individuals. When researchers blocked communication through speech and gestures, the results dropped even further. Many teams chose quick moves that looked good at first but failed in the end.
Professor Ofer Feinerman said ants live in a “society in which cooperation greatly outweighs competition.” He added that a colony is like a “super-organism” where the group can be smarter than any one ant alone.
Watch the ants and humans compete in the maze challenge in the video below.
Sample sentences
He laughed at me when I lost my job, but the tables have turned because I just got a new job at his company and I’m going to be his boss.
The tables have turned in the election, and the party that was behind is now leading.
In school I always helped him with math, but now the tables have turned and he helps me.
Origin
This expression comes from board and card games in the 1600s. Players sat on opposite sides of a table, and if the table or game board was turned, the positions were reversed. The phrase later came to mean any situation where the advantage changes from one side to another.
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Ants prove superior to humans in group problem-solving maze experiment