!!Con 2017: What Alien Invaders, Birds, and Computer Simulations have in Common: Flocking!!
8What Alien Invaders, Birds, and Computer Simulations have in Common: Flocking!! by Jan Mitsuko Cash
Real flocks aren’t what they’re like in the movies. You’ve probably seen flocking behavior in The Avengers, the latest Star Trek movie, or even in the Ender’s Game books. Flocks are groups of individuals, usually birds (or invading aliens when it comes to Sci-Fi), that are collectively moving together. The flocks in movies show individuals forming complex patterns, but they’re all easily taken down by targeting a centralized point of command. In reality, flocking behavior is a lot simpler and there doesn’t need to be any coordination between individuals–that means your favorite protagonists probably wouldn’t have won when they came up against flocks!
Jan is an editor at No Starch Press and freelance Japanese to English translator. Sometimes she programs, usually with turtles.