RETHINKING: Ants do not buy iPhone7

Dear Friends:

When a lot of Apple fans are waiting the luxury version of iPhone 7, some analysts make the following question: “How much would you pay for the new iPhone?”

During September, Apple plans to introduce a series of smart-phones including a luxury version that according to several sources will cost $1,400.

Really, do you need a $1,400-smartphone? Is it a requirement for your job? “Why you want a smart-phone at this high price?”

A lot of people don’t have enough money to end the month, but they are saving all the “bucks” they can, to come first when Apple will launch its new creatures. How many animals of the zoo think the same?

Several days ago, in a break of my work, when my colleagues were plugged in their iPhones, I was rethinking the crazy world of current days.

One of my co-workers was watching a romantic series in the screen of her iPhone with intrigue and bitter discussions. The other was talking with a friend in Spain, shouting in the middle of the night from both sides of the line.

I have my own smart-phone, but I only use it to make some short phone communications by day and read my electronic mail when I am not near a computer.

For this reason, while my both colleagues were spending their free times with their iPhones, my mind was navigating to other things.

Like I frequently do, I was observing the trees and plants around a big “patio” of white tiles next to the office.

Suddenly, a bee fell dead in the white floor. Perhaps was a natural death or the hit of a shoe of somebody who was walking for there.

At that moment, I said to myself: “Maybe, this death can reduce the portion of honey for the breakfast of my friends.” But I did expect nothing more.

During my life, I saw a lot of small insects dying in the street and also inside the soup dish of my children, but I did never pay attention about that happens when a bee dies.

The surprise was that in only seconds, groups of ants started to march to the white tile where the bee was dying. From different locations of a big garden around the white patio, the small animals were walking to the “scene” of this mortal incident.

It was evident that the dying bee in the middle of a white tile sent a "SOS message" to other animals located from different distances where it fell.

I did not perceive loud sounds or visual signals or the smell to a dead body. However, the bee made its last communication call to somebody…

And one or more of the ants that received “call” from the bee, they called others, and others.

In front of this massive reaction of the ants, I tried to determine if some electric sensors where in the patio, but nothing.

In short minutes, the ants started to walk to the place when the bee was dead from different sectors of the green.

The majority of the ants were walking following others in an organized movement.

Everybody knew where they had to go. Everybody received directly or indirectly the SOS call (“I am dying in the middle of the white patio!)

After that, from other sides of the “patio” more ants came and I saw some of them talking with others. Interesting to see that ants from a side of the patio met others from other side and they were talking. I am sure, they talked each other. Everybody wanted to see the dead bee. It was like a “funeral” where the ants trying to touch the corpse of the bee.

When I was a child, my parents bought me an interesting book about ants and bees. From that moment, I know the ants are close relative animals from the bees and wasps, like distant family members.

I learned the ants have their “homes” underground. They live in big tunnels. But the book didn’t say, if they have “electricity” and "phone lines”.

Never before, I paid attention about the way these small animals they communicate each other.

I knew from my reading as child, the ants and bees have antennas to communicate each others and they send special sounds that we – the humans – don’t hear.

Also, I know they generate chemical substances that help in the communication among them.

However, I never expected to see what I saw days ago. With my own senses I could realize that ants and bees have advanced communication systems that probably are more efficient than the technology of iPhones and other phone devices.

While I was observing the events among the ants and the bee, my colleagues had to plug their devices several times to recharge their batteries.

In the meantime, the ants without smart-phones continued their march to the bee funeral.

Comparing the communications among the members of this ant colony and the calls of the Apple and Android smart-phones, I am thinking that our human communication systems are primitive.

Till now, it looks impossible to me all that I saw in some minutes of my break time, while my colleagues were plugged to their iPhones.

I feel sorry that I don’t know the communication line of these animals to ask them the same questions that I made to my colleagues: Do you need a $1,400 iPhone to be in touch with the world? What is the version of the operating system are using to communicate with bees and long distant family members?

When we read the specifications of the iPhone 7, we feel fascinated with the new Apple devices: All the best of the best!

Nonetheless, what I saw in the white patio of my office puts in doubts if all the new features of the Apple phone surpass together the efficiency of the communication systems of these insects.

I suspect despite that the humans believe they are the more advanced beings of the universe; their technology is behind the ant technology. (Question marks will remain in air.). But with certainty, the ants will not pay $1,400 for the new luxury version of iPhone.

Domingo A. Trassens

Email: d.a.trassens@gmail.com

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