Traffic Zoology

There is a secret zoo that runs encaged along				and semi-tundra, nascent traffic animals have a
the roads.They are liquid, semi-visible goliaths that				long period in which to mature before coming
rage through the streams and chunks of ordinary				against obstacles like influxes of new cars or
traffic, with the effervescent tendrils of mile-long				navigating around towns; and because the
tales whipping behind them like Chinese dragons.				highway wends its way directly through most of
Though composed of hundreds of pounds of				Canada's major cities, it provides a handy litmus
steel, glass and plastic, they are able to pass				test for the homeostatic integrity of a given
through solid objects. They are bound by the laws				specimen simply by observing whether or not it
of the highway, but not by any conventional				makes it through to the other side of the urban
notion of time or space.They are Aggregate				area intact.While daytime ATA formation is not
Traffic Animals: a menagerie of emergent beasts				rare, it is under the cover of darkness that
drawn from the interacting behaviours of many				development can proceed in a comparatively
individual human beings driving many individual cars				unfettered fashion. This is due in large part to the
with many individual goals, their collective activity				more abstract, disconnected experience of
giving rise to something with greater presence,				interacting with other vehicles merely as points of
power and purpose than the sum of its				coloured light. Familiar prejudices and stereotypes
constituents. They take on a host of different				-- potential sources of destructive competition --
forms, each to serve a different end.They are				are smoothed out by the shadows. At least on
real, and they drive among us.PreambleIn his				the basis of visual impressions, a Volvo and a
introduction to The Extended Phenotype (Oxford				Camaro can enter a system as peers.Diminished
University Press, 1982) enthusiastic evolutionary				visibility resulting from mild to moderate weather
biology cheerleader and Commodore-hacking				conditions can have a similar equalising effect, but
pop-science guru Richard Dawkins invites us to				when conditions become too severe drivers tend
consider the Necker Cube Illusion: a				to clump into packs for safety, leading to
two-dimensional image representing two				pseudo-ATA fleets that are all too conscious
interlocked three-dimensional blocks in which the				social events (as in the Quintana Roo
foreground and background can seem to flip back				experience).Show me an autumn stretch of prairie
and forth as the brain fruitlessly seeks the "true"				transcontinental highway at twilight, and I will show
interpretation of the depicted space. This is				you the secret zoo of the road.Typical
Dawkins' starting point for a thought experiment				MorphologiesThe most basic form of multi-car life
in which he blurs the lines between species, their				is the Asipetal Caterpillar, also known as a worm.
genes and the environment, calling into question				Worms begin when a stable solo vehicle spawns a
the traditional boundaries drawn through biological				linear, single-lane chain of vehicles composed of
systems to identify the relevant level of study.				loose monomers joining at the rear (a closely
To wit, to wank:We look at life and begin by				related, but dysfunctional, construct known as an
seeing a collection of interacting individual				Acropetal Caterpillar grows by adding vehicles to
organisms. We know that they contain smaller				the front of the chain, generally leading to
units, and we know that they are, in turn, parts				destructive diffusion or autolysis). Short, lithe
of larger composite units, but we fix our gaze on				worms are the fundamental building blocks of
the whole organisms. Then suddenly the image				healthy ATA tissue. Perverse, long-form worms
flips. The individual bodies are still there; they have				are the seeds of congestion and death.The
not moved, but they seem to have gone				second atomic element of ATA tissue stands in
transparent...In other words, if you are able to				stark contrast to the worm, for it is a fleeting
de-emphasise the organism itself you are free to				thing, and when it takes concrete form at all it is
appreciate the idea of beaver ponds as artificial				often manifested as a single car. The Apparent
lakes generated by beaver genes, or to see a				Coxswain is a vehicle that appears, to the
spider's web as an arrangement of silk drawn by				conscious or semi-conscious mind of one or more
DNA. By extending the lines with which we bound				drivers, to be a leader of the worm. When the
the traditional phenotype, we define new				Apparent Coxswain changes lanes, there is a
organisms, merging technology and individuals into				higher probability that a majority of the worm will
communities the same way that ancient				follow suit than if the change were initiated by a
micro-organisms interacting inside bilipid				less trusted vehicle. In many cases each car in a
membranes fell into symbiotic lockstep dances to				worm perceives the car immediately ahead of it
found the first stable cells.Organelles, cells, bodies,				to be the Apparent Coxswain, leading to
herds: at which level we discern the animal is				domino-effect lane-transitions; such formations
purely a matter of focus.This idea of the				have high homeostatic integrity because of the
emergent animal or "super-organism" is hardly				worm's ability to "find a new head" should one
particular to Dawkins: William Morton Wheeler				Apparent Coxswain be lost to the currents.
remarked on the idea in his 1911 paper "The Ant				(Please note: the Apparent Coxswain should not
Colony as an Organism" in a treatment that is				be confused with the Virtual Coxswain or the
every bit as cogent but with considerably less				Napoleonic Coxswain, discussed below.)Formations
otaku chic than Kevin Kelly's printed-soundbyte				that achieve such integration become Cholingers:
manifesto on hive complexity, Out of Control				Asipetal Caterpillars with tightly-integrated internal
(Perseus Books, 1994). In the words of				feedback systems of Apparent Coxswains,
Kelly:There is nothing to be found in a beehive				capable of transmitting information from tip to tail
that is not submerged in a bee. And yet you can				with high fidelity. Cholingers can slither to avoid
search a bee forever with cyclotron and				torn tyres on the road, twitch around
fluoroscope, and you will never find a hive.So too				slow-moving vehicles, and even slip through packs
can you examine a driver in a car and know				of alien worms, wild axenes and other traffic
nothing about the greater animal in which they				froth to arrive on the other side intact.Of course,
both participate when the circumstances are right.				not all Cholingers slip through the strangers:
Some of the applicable forces can be seen most				sometimes they interact.Every Cholinger is either
clearly in the rarified environment of the				benthic or pelagic. Benthic Cholingers travel at a
professional race course, as explored by David				similar rate to the currents of the road, while
Ronfeldt, a senior social scientist at RAND, in his				Pelagic Cholingers travel at a dissimilar rate when
2002 paper Social Science at 190 MPH on				compared to other traffic (typically a faster rate).
NASCAR's Biggest Superspeedways, where				It is possible, however, for a benthic line to be
fleeting moments of co-operation between rivals				picked up and carried along by a pelagic cousin,
are necessary in order to win. Ronfeldt focuses in				leading to a coupled form. This is the first real
particular on the phenomenon of draft line				Aggregate Traffic Animal we will meet tonight: a
formation, which is similar to the way flocking				bilaterally asymmetrical diageotrope known as the
birds can share aerodynamic advantage. Like iron				Epiphysian Cyclosalp.Within the body of the
filings in a magnetic field, the large-scale distribution				Cyclosalp the individual Cholingers are transmuted
of opportunistically partnering cars are drawn into				into a pair of Librigenates -- stretchy, free-flowing
predictable macro-scale patterns across the				tissue that is bounded in space by the relationship
speedway:Once the racers sort themselves out -				with its partner, the accelerating pelagic lobe sliding
after ten to twenty laps - it is common to see a				forward and the steady benthic lobe catching up
single draft line of four to seven cars running in				in a slow-motion slingshot, compressing and
front, pursued a hundred or so yards back by a				expanding between the loose, senseless clumps of
second line of cars, all another hundred or so				other cars. This accordion-like effect might initially
yards ahead of a large pack of cars that may still				seem to be a force tearing the animal apart,
be running in parallel lines but are doing more dicing				rending pelagic from benthic -- and this is indeed
than drafting...Cars that run alone, often stuck				what might happen in too rarified an atmosphere
dangerously between two draft lines, will appear				-- but when presented with obstacles of any kind,
to drift irrevocably backward.Freed of the bonds				the Librigenates that comprise the Cyclosalp fall
of racing's formalism, the Aggregate Traffic				back on their Cholinger heritage of local integrity,
Animals are born, rooted in transient symbioses				crystallising en masse to navigate the
between individual patches of drivers that will				hazard.Unfettered, the Epiphysian Cyclosalp is like
crystalise into the organs of the beast. But the				half a butterfly, its riparian body gilded by a slowly
circumstances have to be just right for one to				flapping wing of accelerating, gliding Librigenates
emerge. The unholy Hieronymus Bosch-style				ebbing and flowing in a stately round. Its insides
concert of homicidal applied-shadenfreude that				whorl as partners switch places, benthic turning
may characterise your urban, intra-urban or				briefly pelagic, pacer cars joining a rippling pulse of
sub-urban driving experience is not ripe ground for				local inertia forward, headlights cross-sweeping.It is
ATA growth: too frothy.The sociological and				beyond the scope of this article to detail the
scatological dances of the megalopolis rushhour,				myriad circumstances that provide seed for the
too, are beyond the scope of this article, and are				profitable entanglement of multiple Cyclosalpic
at any rate most likely best explored with deep				streams. So diverse are the possibilities that we
computer simulations using high-tech cellular				could fill a Biblical tome without scratching the
automata tools with average driver profiles linked				surface, without revealing the common thread of
to real-world statistics of roadway usage coupled				simplicity upon which the complexity hinges.
with an army of ten thousand angry ax-wielding				Suffice to say the larger clade includes such
orcs battling an equal number of obedient				varied forms as the whiplashing Epinastic
clonetroopers.Rather, this field is perfect fodder				Tricyclosalp, the many-fingered Dicyclosalp
for the amateur ethologist, observing phenomena				Fimbriatum, and the diaphanous, fleeting wonder
with a keen eye, an open mind and a sharp pencil.				of the mile-long Merosporangic Super-Cyclosalp...Of
And while much has been written about				course, not all Asipetal Caterpillars grow up to
manipulating traffic waves, the dynamics of traffic				become stately Cholingers; instead, they lock into
jams and phase-transitions in traffic density, very				Lego-like bricks of uniform properties called
little time has been devoted to the observation				Pycnoblastoids. While short-lived Apiculate
and cataloguing of persistent multi-car				Pycnoblastoids (in which the Apparent Coxswain is
zoomorphia.Early ObservationsThe author first				always the most forward car) are more
became aware of the existence of ATAs while				common, it is the more flexible Laxiflorous
making his way through the hinterland of Canada				Pycnoblastoid (in which the Apparent Coxswain is
on a long, mid-winter solo drive in a decrepit				any car except that most forward) that lives a
Dodge Charger with no functioning radio. Due to				more fruitful life.For instance, consider the case of
his dangerous penchant for immersive				a typical composite entity like a Tripycnoblastic
daydreaming in the absence of external stimuli, he				Oomycotum, in which independent pycnoblasts
began to parasite his driving decisions by locking in				jockey for position internally directly or by proxy
behind another car with comparable speed				through one or more Napoleonic Coxswains (that
ambitions. By reserving a sliver of awareness for				is, drivers who suffer from the delusion that they
tracking the red brake lights of the "lead" car for				are single-handedly responsible for steering/leading
changes in speed or direction, the author was able				their local sub-structure). The domino-line
to comfortably enjoy his trance while a hefty				behaviour of an Apiculate Pycnoblastoid makes it
burden of road awareness was outsourced to the				too brittle to survive the stresses of being
other driver, causing the front car to function as				permeated by a competing pycnoblast, whereas
a sort of early warning mechanism for changing				the comparatively elastic structure of the
conditions (including the Mounties' speed-traps).The				Laxifloroid -- imparted due to the inherent time
notion resurfaced while the author was wrestling				delay involved in co-ordinating with a mid-fleet
a dented Volkswagen Rabbit rental down a				Apparent Coxswain -- retains a perfect balance of
twisting, pot-holed two-lane jungle highway				rigidity and looseness, riding a line between
through the Mexican state of Quintana Roo. As				orchestration and dissolution that makes
the journey began he found himself hedged inside				composite forms like Oomycota
a short parade of other tourists, all driving their				possible.Pycnoblastic tissue is unusual in that it
rental cars out of the airport at around the same				makes use of some level of awareness on the
time at a hesitant pace, breaking frequently to				part of the driver that they are participating in a
process the unfamiliar leafy darkness ahead.				formation (though drivers are only likely to be
Fearing injury, the author laterally-leapfrogged the				aware of the local level of structure). When this
indecisive parade and drove on into the murk				awareness reaches a certain level the composite
alone. Remembering his success in the far north,				entity is usually destroyed by internal stresses,
he latched onto the back of a local vehicle (a				but occasionally a dissolving multi-pycnoblast will
home-modded convertible Beetle carrying ten				emit a stream of highly energised vehicles -- the
people, standing room only), using its varying				Apheresoid Lirellate, a concentrated apiculatoid
speed as an indicator of road conditions.				pycnoblast flung free from the miasma of death
Unexpectedly, this move was noticed by several				to rocket away, using for a coxswain the
of the other tourists, who began to fight to				abandoned carcass itself....These are but the
separate themselves from the melee and join the				fringes of the zoo, the tip of the iceberg.We have
newer, more surefooted pack that was rapidly				not even touched on the sensitive antennae of
pulling ahead...By the time the author had reached				the Stipitate Phototaxites fringed with Virtual
his exit the impromptu fleet of vehicles had				Coxswains, pseudo-lead cars ready to be
become a persistent, homeostatic phenomenon.				sacrificed to trip any trap, the chaotic wrath of
The fleet had quickly learned to manipulate the				the Biflagellate Ableptic Figmo and the fate of the
spacing between its components in order to				cystidial flotsam locked within them; the weird
remain permeable to faster moving local traffic				rhythms of the Cacospysic Super-Barbicanoids
while defending its integrity against more				and their elaborate dance of shifting coxswains,
disruptive external vehicles. Pulses of				the majesty of the motorcycle-based Raging
communication signifying when the passing lane				Fallaxoid; the menagerie of endless cancers that
was clear rippled down the chain through a				can grow from unexpectorated papillic
conscientious leaning into the gravel shoulder,				granulomae, from cataracts of geriatric nektons,
assisting in the process of expectorating invaders.				or from service-stations with badly planned
Several of the original tourist vehicles ended up				driveways.Further StudyThe study of a new
being swapped out for other vehicles without				order of life is not without its risks, both
rocking the boat. Later on, even the leader was				professional (in terms of reputation) and practical
swapped out for another experienced local car.It				(in terms of being maimed by mis-navigated
was a fetching game, contributing to the welfare				vehicles). The amateur automotive ethologist
of all of its players in an interesting way, but it				must not only have keen skills of observation, but
was not a true ATA. It was too conscious a				also the fortitude to persevere despite the slings
contrivance to be anything more than a delightful				and arrows of dubious dissenters. Like
spontaneous social event.You see, a distributed				Leeuwenhoek's controversial animalcules and
animal with human components can be very				Pasteur's superstition-defying microbes, there will
sensitive to perturbations from within. It is only				always exist a certain testudinal resistance to new
when the conflicting threads of goals, reasoning				ideas among older quarters. There will be those
and competition between individual human minds				who doubt the very existence of aggregate
are quietened into the background noise that the				vehicular life, or who insist that the zoo of the
soil can truly be ripe to raise a complex beast.				road dwells in metaphor alone.The opinions of such
When drivers can fall into a semi-hypnotic state				sceptics could be changed by a single night spent
and their herd instincts take over, the seeds are				on a grassy hill overlooking a well-travelled country
laid for something greater.HabitatWhile there are				highway, watching the streams of red and silver
thousands of traffic animal breeding grounds along				lights merge and split, compress and attenuate,
the paved networks of the world, only one driving				roil and interact, fatten and reproduce...Watch the
region has been extensively explored at this time,				roads, and see the zoo for yourself. There is no
largely due to budgetary considerations.The				denying its patterns of insectile purpose, its
TransCanada Highway is a nearly ideal				myriad variations in anatomy and configuration, or
environment for the production of large-scale				the orchestrated madness of the low-cost
ATA phenomena, due in great part to the				petroleum feeding frenzy. Your own mind, honed
simplicity of its shape: all cars are moving either				by thousands of generations of natural selection
westbound or eastbound, streamlining the goals of				to recognise life from non-life, will tell you it is
the drivers in much the same way as the shape				true; the disciplines of careful observation and
of the Daytona superspeedway encourages				meticulous classification will tell you how, and
drafting partnerships (see above). Also, because				why.Open your eyes, and witness an untapped
there are long stretches through lonely wilderness				world.

Cvm Vlkswagen

Traffic Zoology