The Smart Swarm

In Smart Swarm, Miller delves into the world of ants, fish, bees and birds to reveal how their intricate group behaviour can teach humans to organise, systematise, and problem-solve more effectively. Using animals as the starting point for each chapter, he throws up questions about some of our most integral systems: How can a group of Wall Street executives fail to make efficient business decisions when a swarm of honeybees can make a critical decision about their hive in just a few seconds? Why do large crowds of people turn into a chaotic mob when hundreds of reindeer are able act to together as a single herd? Why should commuters endure gridlocked traffic jams when a school of herring can coordinate its movements so precisely that it can change direction in the flash of a second?