NPR Science: Ants That Count!

[agemo2007ed]

I'm wondering if they are counting their steps or are they actually measuring travel time?

Practically it would be the same thing, but it would seem easier for an ant to measure time as opposed to the number of steps.

[TheLaelkrol]

@agemo2007ed

I think that number of step is more constant than "traveling time".

And i've gotten one question. If you will put obsicle on it's way it will have to bypass it or climb it (both ways mean more steps), will the ant get back home then?

[Jigiligy]

Dont show us a cartoon and show us actual footage

[rg0057]

This makes me fear for potential consequences if we're ever discovered by "intelligent" alien life, even if they don't want to eat us, liquefy us for fuel, or just kill us for our land.

[crazymusic424]

ummm not realllly... ants dont count.... this was supposed to teach us....?????

[crazymusic424]

poor ant no 3!! lol :)

[ianimarkulev]

pedometer



[TheLaelkrol]

@ianimarkulev

Pedometer is an ruler used by Pedobear.

[youbintubinallday]

I'm surprised that the ant could walk on the stilts well enough to make a good experiment.

[Dastweeper]

I like this video. The music, though, is from Boom Blox 1 creative arena. I don't know the name, but thanks NPR. This will drive me nuts.

[tjhancock85]

instead of messing with the ants and probably spending millions on those ant stilts...why not just move the apple further away when the ants were feeding on it....

[ChipArgyle]

I wonder why only female ants agreed to participate in this experiment.

[coolestnerdever122]

i think this is a really interesting study, but the voice acting and animating in this video are terrible

[theemailforkings]

Couldn't they just have a mini treadmill.

[potctk]

can you train kindergardners to count? lets chop off there legs and find out!

[TheMikeAndLucas]

ant #3 tch tch THAT'S ANIMAL ABUSE!

[WowThoseAreHuge]

@TheMikeAndLucas An ant isn't an animal dumb fuck. God damn.

[gubberfuck]

@WowThoseAreHuge OH REALLY. insects aren't animals? might want to know what the FUCK you're talking about before calling someone a "dumb fuck". (dumbfuck.)

[raicho20]

Jaa, jaa!

[TBman256]

WHAT HAS SCIENCE DOOOONNNEE!?!?

[qwerty2010s]

omg that intro is so way off XD

[asianbumz]

and their sense of direction?

[hylareca]

Krulwich is such a brilliant narrator. I always dig hearing his voice on this stuff.

Also such a clever video, as always, NPR.

[BeggsTube]

Poor little ant!! :(

[Iluvjb2256]

Hee hee my dad showed me this like a year ago and I thought I'd look it up pretty funny right my dads favorite part. I want my legs back pant pant

[SAIL4323]

I saw this in AP Bio last year, and I visited my AP Bio teacher earlier this week, and he played this video for his freshman Bio students, too. It's a good video to teach about the scientific process and how an experiment is formed.

[DrSpooglemon]

"Listen, if you actually read what I typed attentively, you should have seen "that adaptation refers to the changing numbers of steps, not the mechanism of the pedometer""

I was commenting on what was said in the video and you contradicted me. It is really of no interest to me how you wish to interpret the term "adjusted". I am going with what was said in the video. The video was quite specific and I disagree with it. This is a scientific matter and I am justifiably being pedantic.

Anywho...

[SugarPieHoneyBunch10]

stumpy ant made me sad ):

[DrSpooglemon]

It is false to say that the ants "pedometers" had adapted to their new leg size. Their pedometers would just be doing the same thing they always had; counting steps. Whether there are more or fewer steps the "pedometers" wont have changed...

[greatslyfer]

@DrSpooglemon i think what they're trying to say is that the ants "pedometers" have adapted to their new leg size by changing the number of steps... and that's exactly what happened.

[DrSpooglemon]

@greatslyfer No. The "pedometer" counts the number of steps away from the nest so it can retrace them back to the nest. The ants would have walked until the found the food. Then the number of steps back to the nest would be the same as the number of steps to the food from the nest. Whatever the leg size the ants "pedometer" would be counting the number of steps it has walked away from the nest. No adaptation needs to be posited. Occam's razor, my friend...

[greatslyfer]

@DrSpooglemon Chill man... that's exactly what I said. You just simply misunderstood what the video guy and I meant. The adaptation is not literally meant in every detail of the word, it's just used to describe the ant's change to the number of steps it takes to reach its food and its nest. In this way, the ant reaches the home by adapting to its new legs.

LOL i just laughed my ass off when you mentioned occam's razor. We both meant the same thing, yet you say that. Don't try to sound cool bro.

[DrSpooglemon]

@greatslyfer Don't tell me to chill. That is NOT exactly what you said. The pedometers would have been working in EXACTLY the same manner as before. The ants walk until they find food. The "pedometers" count the number of steps. Before and after the leg alterations the "pedometers" would have been doing the SAME thing. The "pedometers" have had NO need to adapt to ANYTHING.

I wasn't trying to sound "cool". It is erroneous to mention adaptation at all...

[greatslyfer]

@DrSpooglemon THE ADAPTATION REFERS TO CHANGING TO THE NUMBER OF STEPS DUE TO THE CHANGED LENGTH OF THE LEGS. YOU IDIOT. OF COURSE THERE IS NO ADAPTATION TO THE PEDOMETERS THEMSELVES! jeez some people can't understand shit.

[DrSpooglemon]

@greatslyfer 4:00 "their pedometers ... had adjusted to their new leg size..."

I rest my case.

Jeez some people...

[greatslyfer]

@DrSpooglemon adjusted to their new leg size because it takes more or less steps to reach their destination. DO YOU REALIZE WE JUST MADE THE SAME FUCKING POINT. IVE SAID THIS BEFORE! Man I think you have problems reading and understanding comments.

[DrSpooglemon]

@greatslyfer That is not the same point. It did not have to adjust to anything. When the ant leaves the nest it will walk till it finds the food. The ants walk back the same number of steps they walk out. The ants were returned to the nest by the experimenters. The ants left the nest to look for food. Once they found the food they walked back as many steps as they had to walk to get the food. NO ADJUSTMENT REQUIRED!!!

The problem in understanding is YOURS. Not mine...

[greatslyfer]

@DrSpooglemon Are you literally that dumb? Wow brother I feel sorry for your mother and to those around you. You have the understanding level of a year old, and even then 6 year olds can READ!

After reading all your comments, it seems that you're a fucking troll.

Man just fuck you. And your mother.

[DrSpooglemon]

@greatslyfer In what way am I a troll? How does ANYTHING I have posted make me a troll? You are the one throwing around abuse here. I simply pointed out a logical error that YOU do not seem to have the capacity to understand. And please don't bring my mother into this. On your profile you say you like hip-hop music. Do you realise how stereotypical you are coming across with that kind of talk...

[greatslyfer]

@DrSpooglemon Ok I admit that I was wrong calling you a troll. Lemme rephrase it... you're just a person who doesn't understand what's being said to him and takes it to an offense. Besides why do you have to look at my profile, and how on earth is me liking hip-hop related to our discussion. You thinking the '"mother insults" came from hip hop? WTF.

Oh and tell me about my logical error. Like I said, THERE IS ACTUALLY NO LITERAL ADAPTATION of the pedometer's function, just adapting to the legs.

[DrSpooglemon]

@greatslyfer "a person who doesn't understand what's being said to him and takes it to an offense"

Well I could understand you better if you learned how to write a sentence properly. My comment was on what was said in the video. Please keep to the subject. I don't know what kind of adaptation YOU are refering to. You obviously did not understand the video nor my comment.

Also, most hip hop I have listened to does have a lot of "yo moma" in it.

BIATCH!!!

[greatslyfer]

@DrSpooglemon that's because it's the only thing you understood. Listen, if you actually read what I typed attentively, you should have seen "that adaptation refers to the changing numbers of steps, not the mechanism of the pedometer"

No, most hip hop does not contain "Yo mama", that's only for teenagers humour.

Oh and lemme repeat just to be sure: "that adaptation refers to the changing numbers of steps, not the mechanism of the pedometer" i never said the pedometer itself changed.

[greatslyfer]

@DrSpooglemon PS Dude I don't have anything against you, it's just that I hate it when people can't understand what you're actually trying to convey. If we could actually talk in real life i'm sure we could come to terms, but that's the flaw of internet. anyway hope you're not pissed about this whole conversation.

[anewM3THOD]

yaugh!

[HelloOthello]

"....what do you mean gruesome?"

"Um, we're cutting your legs of at the knees"

YAH :D

[CleverCactus]

So when they go the wrong direction they're screwed?

[493pokemaniacV2]

@CleverCactus yah!

[fairdathm]

This is very interesting, but they could have designed the study w/o shortening the ants' legs. I know some people would say they're "just ants" but that seems both harmful and unnecessary. (Of course, I also disagree w/animal testing.)

[declanp1]

@kritikalmass3 If you Google NPR Ants do Math, you'll find it.

[nerdymcg]

instead of taking the ant's legs they should have gave it longer stilts than 'ant number 2'

[declanp1]

@nerdymcg Really?

[nerdymcg]

@declanp1 correct

[feorix182]

you forgot one thing...ant do have eyes dumbass....

[TheZipstorm]

@feorix182 LOL

[nerdymcg]

@feorix182

Apparantly they have bad eyesight, imagine having bad eyesight in the desert too...

[blackraintavern]

WHAT THE F...

[MrMattiny]

you are cruel!!!!!

[PrinzMegahertz]

@Pentatleta:

The trigonometry needs the step count. In this example, the ants run only a straight line. In real life, they count their steps until they turn and then use path integration to calculate their position.

@foraneagle2:

They don't measure time. It takes them longer to climb up a hill than to climb it down again, so if they were stopping time, they would run to far on their way back.

[PrinzMegahertz]

@Pentatleta

Why is it wrong? In the shown example, the ants walked only a straight line without the need to turn. Of course, if the way had been more complex, they would have needed path integration, but it still would have been depending on the odometer.

[Pentatleta]

Besides cruel it's wrong. It's not a matter of step count but direction and trigonometry. example: 3 steps south, 3 steps east, to come back go northwest (5,whatever steps. just direction) Reference= sun. just like bees

[theTofuCube]

Watching these experiments must be hilarious. A bunch of dudes staring at ants.

Also, ants die in more gruesome ways by nature. Getting their legs cut for science would probably be the most important thing that ant did in its entire life.

[C2LelouchViBrittania]

NPR Science make science fun!

[hughpower123]

That's horrible. We should cut off the scientists legs.

[seanecavanaugh]

is that not the theme from bloom box? the videogame...

[shellchasen]

Couldn't the trauma that Ant #2 and especially Ant #3 experienced account for their not making it home?

[foraneagle2]

Consider that the ants measure the TIME that transpires during their trip NOT the STEPS. They release a scent (gas) while they walk; all they need is a way to measure the volume of this and duplicate it on the way home. No counting involved. This is bad science and bad reporting at best.

[unicornguard]

didn't npr make that video that people don't walk in a straight line ? would this apply to ants?

[CHeRNoRMX]

@unicornguard if you blindfold them maybe!

[SandwidgeVids]

these npr vids own

[MiniJumboPancakes]

"PEDOMETERS. IN ZHERE BRAINS. JA, JA."

Gotta love those Swiss and German scientists. :]

[MisamisaMafioso44]

Huh?

"Blahnlaalksdjalksdjaklsjd"

....WHAT THE F--

"Now as for ant no. 2!"

[TheRambo717]

What about if the ant makes a turn, does it record that as well

[BlindSoothsayer]

@TheRambo717 I'd assume ants have some inherent understanding of vectors. Or something ridiculous.

[CoDWikiTMOI]

LOL PEDOMETER

[MrOnsamii]

stupid experiment and cruel!

[bhellemhart24]

haha.. cute and funny but so educational...haha.,

[amaii112]

ahah rofl

[fuss101]

How did they affix tiny little stilts to an ants legs?

[bennemann]

@fuss101 It says in the video. They used superglue (Super Bonder).

[PrinzMegahertz]

@fuss101

i think these are hairs from pigs. I would imagine they used glue

[declanp1]

@PrinzMegahertz They are pig hairs and they used superglue.

[Warriorcatfan18]

LOLCAT

[Otokogoroshi]

Awwww poor letcutoffanty

[donnythedingo]

The soundtrack makes me wanna play Boom Blox

[krazy99katt]

Poor stumpy ant!

[BrezzyMartinez09]

"What The F...." :D .

[klausisense]

jaa!

[damphier14]

and ants also claim ... she says fuck! give me my legs back bastard!

[werewolfgirlapples]

Watched this in my honors class, lol...

[SpaceManSarb]

interesting... ants wear glasses

[ANONONTHEJEWTUBE]

Peta hates you :B

[seriesfanatic]

Poor stumpy ant :/

Interesting though.

[novazee]

yaaaaa!!

[PyroJoe552]

cant stumpy ant just take the stilts from the tall ant?

[1559amt]

I feel all stumpy..... I want my legs back

[rriverstone1]

ppl think I'm crazy cuz I don't step on ants. Here's another good reason Y. I live in New Mexico, btw.

[neephius]

Crual Bastards.Kill all scientists.

[fifipokemon]

what do u mean gruesome?

were cutting ur legs from the knees

wha?!

lol my sci teacher showed us this

[thesparitan]

lol

[redfoxarts]

Just awhile ago... I took my cup to make a milo...

Until I found out that I didn't close the plastic container properly... I feel so sad when I saw the ants!!! They made my milo their home! lots of holes and tiny white!!!

[redfoxarts]

Cute ant keep asking for his legs lols...

While the long legs one doesnt complain lols

[w3inner]

I want my legs back LOL

[anushkadatta]

@w3inner sorry :)

[EddieVantoni0]

LOL Good Vid lol

[Kataroku]

lol at 3:04

"What the f..."

[Joshua17404930]

fake

[deadbirdflyinghome]

"I want my legs back" haha rofl...make me laugh all the time

[fouramerica]

Why didn't they just move the home or the food source when the ant reached it instead of cutting off their legs?

[RoflolmaoProductions]

You can't move an ant hill, if they moved the food source from the start it would go on as it normally would. Also they are ants, nobody gives a damn.

[dancingtokio]

I give a damn. Life is precious. We shouldn't try to ruin it on a whim.

[NoWaPoo]

GERMANS!!!

[dancingtokio]

varying the size of their steps proves there is an innate pedometer that measures how many steps the ants were taking, and that is what the ants were using to locate their targets. if the ants got lost because you moved the nest or the food source, i could argue that the ants were relying on perhaps other unknown ways to memorize the locations of their targets, and not necessarily by counting their steps. makes sense?

[travisdt]

is npr=onion channel?

[Indiegirl271]

this reminds me of Lupon and Trumpernaught lol. man i miss Lupon and Trumpernaught

[ronpack]

not only do ants count, there is an ant species in Australia that spins around and looks at the sun and can figure out how to get back by where the sun is.

[flametorrent96]

we watched this vid in science class

[Viper2k3]

I think i officially love ants :)

[Shadow14l]

Ants can feel pain, not exactly as we do, but in the same concept, yes they do feel "pain", and by that I do not mean our traditional way of "sharper objects hurt more". No, they have their own special way of telling what's happening. Imagine it like insects have different types of eyes to help them see, well they have different types of sensors and neurons as well.

[Shadow14l]

I want my legs back!

[frvfilms]

npr never mentions their channel on the radio.. ??/

[MaikUniversum]

this is animal abuse. You bastards

[muffinmaisy]

@MaikUniversum hahaha i love you

[THEREALghostlaced]

this is dumb.

[vi867]

omg....they really took cut their legs?? poor ants.

[julian1000]

They can't feel pain though. It's kinda terrible because the ant will die, but at least it won't feel pain.

[ronpack]

ants have a very short lifespan

[TheDan337]

@ronpack: So do humans.

[TheDan337]

@julian1000: Why do you think ants cannot feel pain?

[thomjquinn]

Awesome: Oddtodd meets science!

[samaeliDG23]

interesting!

[ot909]

Awesome cartoon!

[radio213]

the animation actually just pissed me off, good video anyways

[KRISTYKATERI]

why couldn't they have just moved the home futher away, when the ants were eating?

[shatteredhopes]

That would defeat the purpose of the experiment. They were testing to see if ants could count not, so when they changed the length of the legs the distances varied. If they just moved the ants nest none would have made it back and thus the experiment fails.

[MAR4168]

Actually quite interesting. Thanks!

[LetsTalkSexTalk]

That was a really cool animation for the sound bite.