Scientists in Japan have been working with a species of slime mold. It spreads out radially, growing a network of veins as it looks for food. When it finds food it then contracts to remove redundant veins .
The scientists carried out an experiment; producing a map of Tokyo with oat flakes (food) and watching to see how the mold grew to reach them.
The network it created was very similar to the train system that actually serves Tokyo, but in some ways more efficient.
The slime mold doesn’t “think” the way humans do, it just spreads in all directions and then optimises around the best result.
If you applied the same logic to your operation would you optimise faster?
Perhaps the slime mold has an advantage. It is very clear what it wants.
Photo by Michael Schiffer on Unsplash
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