this file doesn't work with my zune media player, and I'd really like it on there. It says it's an invalid media type. every other episode works, so far. Is there anywhere else i can download the original copy or something?

truly awesome, leading the charge into "multi-versity" potential of modern media. the appreciation of termites and ants by humans of milleniums are amazing studies.

I just listened to Emergence and I am in a wondering state thinking about the ant art. I'd like to lay my eyes on it. Is there somewhere a 'technological late bloomer' might search for these images?

I just got done listening to the the "weighing the ox" part of the show. As a ranch girl out in Montana, I am offended that you would refer to country folk as dumb. In fact I think that due to the fact that country folk sized up and talked as part of their daily life about mundane things such as commodities aka food...meat, produce, etc. The reason the group average guess was so close to the actual weight of ox is because the individual was not dumb but in fact guessing within an area they did in fact know something about.

To previous posters inquiring about fireflies blinking synchronously in the United States: there is only one known location in the United States where fireflies blink in unison. It is the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, which straddles North Carolina and Tennessee.

*I only know because I researched this for the writing of a children's story set in these mountains. Not an expert source

This is weird, because in the book Sync by S. Strogatz (2003), he cites a letter from a woman in 1992 about synchronizing fireflies in Kentucky!

http://books.google.com/books?id=mtQvcPbzFfwC&lpg=PP1&dq=sync%20strogatz&pg=PA31#v=snippet&q=Great%20Smoky%20Mountain%20National&f=false

But in this podcast (from 2005?) Dr. Strogatz says there are only synchronizing fireflies in Asia. I guess the interview with Dr. Strogatz was in 1991 or so, and they waited a few years before splicing it together?

Love the show! Was trying to find some Youtube video on the synchronized fireflies. What I found was interesting, but far from total synchronization. Maybe you all could point us to some video where we could witness thousands of fireflies blinking on and off exactly at the same time. Thanks!

"The sum is greater than its parts." The sum is something entirely different - a new perspective. Perhaps our senses combine and sync to form the subjective consciousness perspective which can only be viewed as a whole, by taking a step back from traditional dissections. Synthesis is just as valuable as analysis.

New to radiolab, just downloaded all previous broadcasts, so just listened to this. Had to pause and make some coffee after that singing coffee part. Love the show. As far as rebroadcast, if I had not downloaded previous ones, I would not have heard this yet, so I say get over it people.

One complaint, the commerical for tix give away to NYC show was loaded onto the front of EVERY episode where Jad says "hang out with Robert and me in our dressing rooms (evil laugh)" has driven me crazy as I have been listening to back to back episodes while working on a project for 4 days and can't always get to the computer to fast forward.

But I'll survive. Thanks guys!

@hawkotaco: that sounds more like clumping (the tendency of random events to happen in clumps, rather than being more evenly distributed) than emergence. There could also be other factors, which might be revealed by plotting arrivals by minutes of the hour. Read the last chapter of Martin Gardner's "Aha! Gotcha: Paradoxes To Puzzle And Delight" for more.

I work nights at a grocery store and see "emergence" happen all night long as I stand for extended periods of time with zero customers until suddenly, a whole group all comes to the front at once. I don't understand it, but at least now I can label it. Thanks.

Please leave the 'holy' explanations out of your generally science - based shows
thank you

Firefly synchronicity closer to home:
http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2010/may/25/firefly-showcase/

I've exhausted my Radio Lab.. what else do you guys like to listen to?
Much appreciated!

I am a new listener, and so this was the first time I heard this podcast. I really enjoy Radio Lab, and once I have an income I will donate. I do have one question relating to the show: does emergence apply to Wikipedia? One major complaint I hear against Wikipedia is the fact that anyone can contribute at any time to any page. I frequently respond that the pages are monitored by moderators, loyal posters, and (I think) bots. I would think that emergence does show up in the creation and upkeep of pages. I'm not sure if anyone will respond to this post, but I am curious. Please note that I do not work for Wikimedia, or act as a moderator, or even a frequent contributor. I do use Wikipedia to look up many subjects often however.

Seriously...what happened to Radio Lab? Fewer podcasts. Shorter podcasts. Rerunning old podcasts as new. I know, they are in between "seasons" and all, but the "seasons" only seem to be a couple of episodes. I want my old Radio Lab back! (and by old I mean "old quality," not as in old episodes replayed over and over again.)

I think that the (great) podcast would have been a bit better had it noted that the ants, termites, bees or neurons have to have some kind of internal rules for immediate interactions or the community won't emerge. There are computer simulations of things like this.

I agree with Jake. Why not put "first broadcast on 1/15/06" (or whatever date) prominently in the show description? I don't mind the extra download, it'd just be nice to know without listening to it whether it's a show I've already heard.

I don't mind rebroadcasting, and it's not at all unusual that Radio Lab does it (This American Life, for example, does it all the time). But it would be nice if the file were labeled as a rebroadcast--I spent 5 or 10 mins listening to this one, trying to figure out if it was a rerun or a sequel.

Minor quibble--I still like you, Radio Lab.

Great podcast Keep it up, its very "educational" and gives me food for thought ;)

Not everyone grew up with fireflies. Us west-coasters are deprived in this area, and I didn't experience their magic until a summer break when I was nearly 20 years old. Needless to say I was fascinated! I long to make it back to the right geographic region in the right season to see them again.

well, everybody who follows the show knows this is a re-broadcast. Although I don't particularly agree with re-broadcasting; I say these shows are amazing; it takes time to create a broadcast like this. So I say cut them some slack, geez. It's not like anyone is paying for these shows anyway. If you prepaid for the entire season and they sent you a re-broadcast then maybe you could complain. So I say stop whining and delete the re-broadcast; be grateful it's free!

edq (and others) have a good point. It just doesn't make sense to "rebroadcast" content which can be downloaded at anytime.

seriously - i don't get it. it's like no one can make a comment critical of the behaviour of radio lab without getting modded down.

they have made excellent programs in the past, but it's not heresy, nor an insult, to point out that their present mode isn't living up to what it was in the past.

the show is already published through itunes, and so it is fetch-able at any moment; re-releasing it is through a channel which it is already available is not only muddying, but additionally annoying to people who have their podcast subscription automatically fetch any new episodes.

mod me down as you please, but as someone who gives several hundred dollars a year to WNYC just because i (?used to?) like radio lab, i have as good a right as anyone to be gruff.

I would really like to know the artist name for the music about 26 minutes into the podcast. Does anyone know? Thank you.

i agree, i can just hit play if i want to hear this again.

Eh, maybe this should have been marked as a re-broadcast. I was really hoping this was a continuation of my favorite episode...damn.

This excellent episode is rebroadcast-worthy, to my mind. One of the best hours of radio I've ever heard. It fed right into some thinking I've been doing about change, systems, and spirituality. The firefly segment alone is worth the price of admission.

this seems like a re-run? rebroadcasting content is not really relevant with podcast technology. Don't waste my bandwidth.