Talk:Historical examples of military swarming

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Revision as of 02:09, 4 May 2008 by imported>Howard C. Berkowitz (Can an analogy be evocative, can a term be derived, from externally viewable behavior rather than internal motivations?)
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 Definition:  A military paradigm that refers to a continuous series of coordinated attacks, each of relatively short duration, which tend to exhaust and overwhelm the opponent's command and control capabilities. [d] [e]
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Problems with this statement

"The term derives from the attacks of hive insects such as bees, wasps, and ants."

1. Honey bees and wasps do not attack (don't know but that ants do because some species are highly predatory). But bees and wasps are merely acting defensively to protect their nests.

2. Swarming with honey bees has nothing to do with warfare whatsoever. It is a reproductive act, and a honey bee swarm is exceedingly gentle.

3. Wasps and ants do not swarm in any sense similar to honey bees.

I'm not sure how to fix the statement. Perhaps it would be sufficient to say that it mistakenly derives, based on a misunderstanding of hymenopteran behavior. David L Green 23:13, 3 May 2008 (CDT)

I don't mean for this to go off into a discussion of hymenopteran behavior, but isn't there a distinction between motivation and behavior? While wasps may not be "attacking" other than to defend their nest, would an intruder, who accidentally blunders into a nest and is stung repeatedly, find any practical difference, in his experience, if the motivation is defensive or offensive? Would not the continuing stings be perceived as an attack?
In human warfare, there have been a great many deadly exchanges between units, belonging to different sides, blundering into one anothers' areas. For that matter, "friendly fire" (which isn't) fatalities come when units cross boundaries and the commander decides they are threatened.
I didn't intend to say that military swarming is identical to the behavior of stinging social insects, but I think it is fair to say the term "derives" from behavior. If someone shoots me with their rifle, and their buddies add their fire, my experience doesn't depend on whether or not they thought they were shooting in self-defense. I'm still shot. If more combatants are drawn into a combat either because they scent or hear hard-wired threat triggers, or because they hear gunfire and see flashes, is there a practical difference in the melee? Howard C. Berkowitz 02:09, 4 May 2008 (CDT)
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