The term stigmergy, also known as estimergia, means contribution through a physical medium. In some decentralized systems such as bee hives, there are different elements that contribute through the use of certain patterns that are left in the middle, such as pheromones, the accumulation of objects and other physical changes, such as the case of temperature. Likewise, it can also be called stigmergy, to the networks of peers, the interaction in an orderly manner between thousands of minds with the aim of obtaining a common good, managing to overcome such as communism or in the so-called savage communism.
The concept itself was created by Pierre-Paul Grassé, a scientist specializing in the study of ants, applying it to explain how tasks were achieved in social insects without resorting to planning or centralized power. At present, the term has been used and extended to a set of algorithms that are encompassed in what is known as artificial intelligence, generally said algorithm is known as ACO, or also as an optimization algorithm by ant colony.
According to the mathematics professor Tony Bartels, in a publication made in 2002 through the web, he indicated that stigmergy is a method of communication in which individual elements belonging to the same system communicate with other parties, by modifying the environment in which they were, as occurs in some animals when they leave the trail of pheromones.
Years later the concept was expanded to the point that the internet itself can be considered as a product of stigmergy and that the gigantic structure of information available to the internet is comparable to an anthill, since in the first instance a user is in charge of deposit the seed of an idea, this idea will allow other users to build on it and also modify the first concept so that finally an elaborate structure of thought is achieved that are interconnected.
