#Note/Permanent #Self-organization #Collaboration #Stigmergy **From Wikipedia:** [**Stigmergy**](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stigmergy) is a mechanism of indirect coordination, through the environment, between agents or actions. The principle is that the trace left in the environment by an individual action stimulates the performance of a succeeding action by the same or different agent. Agents that respond to traces in the environment receive positive fitness benefits, reinforcing the likelihood of these behaviors becoming fixed within a population over time. Stigmergy is a form of [self-organization](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self-organization "Self-organization"). It produces complex, seemingly intelligent structures, without need for any planning, control, or even direct communication between the agents. As such it supports efficient collaboration between extremely simple agents, who may lack memory or individual awareness of each other. ![[leaf cutter ant.png]] Stigmergy was first observed in [social insects](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_insects "Social insects"). For example, ants exchange information by laying down pheromones (the trace) on their way back to the nest when they have found food. In that way, they collectively develop a complex network of trails, connecting the nest in an efficient way to various food sources. When ants come out of the nest searching for food, they are stimulated by the pheromone to follow the trail towards the food source. The network of trails functions as a shared external memory for the ant colony.