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Greg Molineux's picture

I shall start on a slight

I shall start on a slight tangent and work back towards your question. I recently saw a lecture of a scientist who had been studying the self organisation of locusts into swarms. Apart from the interesting findings that the shape that the locust swarm took enabled the swarm to move more efficiently through the environment, a study of the mormon locust showed that each of the members were in search of salt and protein. As each locust was individually the best source of salt and protein the locusts are forced to continue to swarm or be eaten by other members of the swarm. For some reason this reminds me of the myths surrounding the great hunt, where a man after visiting the faerie king is told to ride at the head of the great hunt until a greyhound on his horse jumps down. In relation to genders, it seems a sensible proposition that they evolved precisely as a way to keep population numbers down, to preserve an organisms environment and therefore itself.

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