螞蚊智力

Collectiveintelligence:：Antsandbrain'sneurons

STANFORD-Anindividualantisnotverybright,butantsinacolony,

operatingasacollective,doremarkablethings.

Asingleneuroninthehumanbraincanrespondonlytowhattheneurons

connectedtoitaredoing,butallofthemtogethercanbeImmanuelKant.

ThatresemblanceiswhyDeborahM.Gordon,StanfordUniversityassistant

professorofbiologicalsciences,studiesants.

"I'minterestedinthekindofsystemwheresimpleunitstogetherdobehave

incomplicatedways,"shesaid.

Noonegivesordersinanantcolony,yeteachantdecideswhattodonext.

Forinstance,anantmayhaveseveraljobdescriptions.Whenthecolony

discoversanewsourceoffood,anantdoinghousekeepingdutymaysuddenly

becomeaforagerOrifthecolony'sterritorysizeexpandsorcontracts,patroller

antschangetheshapeoftheirreconnaissancepatterntoconformtothenew

realities.Sincenooneisinchargeofanantcolony-includingthemisnamed

"queen,"whichissimplyabreeder-howdoeseachantdecidewhattodo?

Thiskindofundirectedbehaviorisnotuniquetoants,Gordonsaid.Howdo

birdsflyinginaflockknowwhentomakeacollectiverightturn?Allanchovies

andotherschoolingfishseemtoturninunison,yetnoonefishistheleader.

GordonstudiesharvesterantsinArizonaand,bothinthefieldandinherlab,

theso-calledArgentineantsthatareubiquitoustocoastalCalifornia.

ArgentineantscametoLouisianainasugarshipmentin1908.Theywere

drivenoutoftheGulfstatesbythefireantandinvadedCalifornia,wherethey

havedisplacedmostofthenativeantspecies.OneofthethingsGordonis

studyingishowtheydidso.Noonehaseverseenanantwarinvolvingthe

Argentinespeciesandthenativespecies,soit'snotclearwhethertheyare

quietlyaggressiveorjustfindwaysoftakingoverfoodresourcesandterritory.

TheArgentineantsinherlabalsoarebeingstudiedtohelpherunderstand

howtheychangebehaviorasthesizeofthespacetheyareexploringvaries.

"Theantsaregoodatfindingnewplacestoliveinandgoodatfindingfood,"

Gordonsaid."We'reinterestedinfindingouthowtheydoit."

HerantsareconfinedbyPlexiglaswallsandanastyglue-likesubstance

alongthetopsoftheboardsthatkeepstheantsinside.Shemovesthewallsin

andouttochangethearenaandvideotapestheants'movements.Acomputer

trackseachantfromitsimageonthetapeandreadsitspositionsoshehasa

diagramoftheants'activities.

Themotionsoftheantsconfirmtheexistenceofacollective.

"Acolonyisanalogoustoabrainwheretherearelotsofneurons,eachof

whichcanonlydosomethingverysimple,buttogetherthewholebraincan

think.Noneoftheneuronscanthinkant,butthebraincanthinkant,though

nothinginthebraintoldthatneurontothinkant."

Forinstance,antssccutforfoodinaprecisepattern.Whathappenswhen

thatpatternnolongerfitsthecircumstances,suchaswhenGordonmovesthe

walls?

"Antscommunicatebychemicals/'shesaid,"That'showtheymostly

perceivetheworld;theydon'tseeverywell.Theyusetheirantennaetosmell.

Sotosmellsomething,theyhavetogetveryclosetoit.

"Thebestpossiblewayforantstofindeverything-ifyouthinkofthecolony

asanindividualthatistr/ingtodothis-istohaveananteverywhereallthe

time,becauseifitdoesn'thappenclosetoanant,they'renotgoingtoknow

aboutit.Ofcourse,therearenotenoughantsinthecolonytodothat,so

somehowtheantshavetomovearoundinapatternthatallowsthemtocover

spaceefficiently."

Keepinginmindthatnooneisinchargeofacolonyandthatthereisno

centralplan,howdotheantsadjusttheirreconnaissanceiftheirterritory

expandsorshrinks?

"Noanttoldthem,'OKZguys,ifthearenais20by20...Somehowthere

hastobesomerulethatindividualantsuseindecidingtochangetheshapeof

theirpathssotheycovertheareaseffectively.Ithinkthatthatruleistheratein

whichtheybumpintoeachother."

Themorecrowdedtheyare,themoreofteneachantwillbumpintoanother

ant.Iftheareaoftheirterritoryisexpanded,thefrequencyofcontactdecreases.

Perhaps,Gordonthinks,eachanthasathresholdfornormalityandadjustsits

pathshapedependingonhowoftenthenumberofencountersexceedsorfalls

shortofthatthreshold.

Iftheterritoryshrinks,thenumberofcontactsinc-easesandtheantalters

itssearchpattern.Ifitexpands,contactdecreasesanditaltersthepatterna

differentway.

IntheArizonaharvesterants,Gordonstudiestasksbesidespatrolling.Each

anthasajob.

"Idividethetasksintofour:foraging,nestmairtenance,midden[piling

refuse,includinghusksofseeds]andpatrolling-patrollersaretheonesthat

comeoutfirstinthemorningandlookforfood.Theforagersgowherethe

patrollersfindfood.

"Thecolonyhasabouteightdifferentforagingpaths.Everydayituses

severalofthem.Thepatrollersgooutfirstonthetrailsandtheyattracteach

otherwhentheyfindfood.Bytheendofanhour'spatrolling,mostpatrollersare

onjustafewtrails....Alltheforagershavetodoisgowheretherearethemost

patrollers."

Eachanthasitsprescribedtask,buttheantscanswitchtasksifthe

collectiveneedsit.Anantonhousekeepingdutywilldecidetoforage.Noone

toldittodosoandGordonandotherentomologistsdon'tknowhowthat

happens.

"Noantcanpossiblyknowhowmuchfoodeverybodyiscollecting,how

manyforagersareneeded,"shesaid."Ananthastohaveverysimplerulesthat

tellit,'OK,switchandstartforaging.'Butanantcan'tassessgloballyhowmuch

foodthecolonyneeds.

"I'vedoneperturbationexperimentsinwhichImarkedantsaccordingto

whattaskthey'redoingonagivenday.Theantsthatwereforagingforfood

weregreen,thosethatwerecleaningthenestwereblueandsoon.ThenI

createdsomenewsituationintheenvironment;forexample,Icreateamess

thatthenestmaintenanceworkershavetocleanuporI'llputoutextrafood

thatattractsmoreforagers.

"Itturnsoutthatantsthatweremarkeddoingacertaintaskonedayswitch

todoadifferenttaskwhenconditionschange."

Ofabout8,000speciesofants,onlyabout10percenthavebeenstudied

thusfar.

"It'shardtogeneralizeanythingaboutthebehaviorofants,"Gordonsaid.

"Mostofwhatweknowaboutantsistrueofavery,verysmallnumberofspecies

comparedtothenumberofspeciesoutthere."

天才小朋友

TIME:5-7'

HOWIQBECOMESIQ

In1904theFrenchministerofeducation,facinglimitedresourcesfor

schooling,soughtawaytoseparatetheunablefromthemerelylazy.Alfred

Binetgotthejobofdevisingselectionprinciplesandhisbrilliantsolutionputa

stamponthestudyofintelligenceandwastheforerunnerofintelligencetests

stillusedtoday.Hedevelopedathirty-problemtestin1905,whichtapped

severalabilitiesrelatedtointellect,suchasjudgmentandreasoning.Thetest

determinedagivenchild'smentalage'.Thetestpreviouslyestablishedanorm

forchildrenofagivenphysicalage.Forexample,five-year-oldsonaverageget

tenitemscorrect,therefore,achildwithamentalageoffiveshouldscore10,

whichwouldmeanthatheorshewasfunctioningprettymuchasothersofthat

age.Thechild'smentalagewasthencomparedtohisphysicalage.

Alargedisparityinthewrongdirection(e.g.zachildofninewithamental

ageoffour)mightsuggestinabilityratherthanlazinessandmeansthatheor

shewasearmarkedforspecialschooling.Binet,however;deniedthatthetest

wasmeasuringintelligenceandsaidthatitspurposewassimplydiagnostic,for

selectiononly.Thismessagewashoweverlostandcausedmanyproblemsand

misunderstandingslater.

AlthoughBinet'stestwaspopular;itwasabitinconvenienttodealwitha

varietyofphysicalandmentalages.So,in1912zWilhelmSternsuggested

simplifyingthisbyreducingthetwotoasinglenumber.Hedividedthemental

agebythephysicalageandmultipliedtheresultby100.Anaveragechild,

irrespectiveofage,wouldscore100.anumbermuchlowerthan100would

suggesttheneedforhelpandonemuchhigherwouldsuggestachildwellahead

ofhispeer.

ThismeasurementiswhatisnowtermedtheIQ(intelligencequotient)

scoreandithasevolvedtobeusedtoshowhowaperson,adultorchild,

performedinrelationtoothers.ThetermIQwascoinedbyLewism.Terman,

professorofpsychologyandeducationofStanfordUniversity,in1916.Hehad

constructedanenormouslyinfluentialrevisionofBinet'stest,calledthe

Stanford-Binettest,versionsofwhicharestillgivenextensively.

Thefieldstudyingintelligenceanddevelopingtestseventuallycoalesced

intoasub-fieldofpsychologycalledpsychometrics(psychofor'mind'and

metricsfor'measurements').Thepracticalsideofpsychometrics(the

developmentanduseoftests)becamewidespreadquiteearly,by1917,when

Einsteinpublishedhisgrandtheoryofrelativity,mass-scaletestingwasalready

inuse.

Germany'sunrestrictedsubmarinewarfare(whichledtothesinkingofthe

Lusitaniain1915)provokedtheUnitedStatestofinallyenterthefirstworldwar

inthesameyear.Themilitaryhadtobuildupanarmyveryquicklyandithad

twomillioninducteestosortout.Whowouldbecomeofficersandwhoenlisted

men?Psychometriciansdevelopedtwointelligenceteststhathelpedsortall

thesepeopleout,atleasttosomeextent.Thiswasthefirstmajoruseoftesting

todecidewholivedandwhodiedsinceofficerswerealotsaferonthebattlefield.

Theteststhemselvesweregivenunderhorrendouslybadconditionsandthe

examinersseemedtolackcommonsense.Alotofrecruitssimplyhadnoidea

whattodoandinseveralsessionsmostinducteesscoredzero!Theexaminers

alsocameupwiththequiteastoundingconclusionfromthetestingthatthe

averageAmericanadult'sintelligencewasequaltothatofathirteen-year-old!

Nevertheless,theaoilityforvariousauthoritiestoclassifypeopleon

scientificallyjustifiablepremiseswastooconvenientandsignificanttobe

dismissedlightly,sowithallgoodastoundingintentionsandoftenover

enthusiasm,society'saffinityforpsychologicaltestingproliferated.

BackinEurope,SirCyrilBurt,professorofpsychologyatUniversityCollege

Londonfrom1931to1950,wasaprominentfigureforhiscontributiontothe

field.Hewasafirmadvocateofintelligencetestingandhisideasfittedinwell

withEnglishculturalideasofelitism.Agovernmentcommitteein1943used

someofBurt'sideasindevisingaratherprimitivetypologyonchildren's

intellectualbehavior.Allweretestedatageelevenandthetop15or20percent

wenttogrammarschoolswithgoodteachersandafastpaceofworktoprepare

forthefewuniversityplacesavailable.Alotofverybrightworking-classchildren,

whootherwisewouldneverhavesucceeded,madeittogrammarschoolsand

universities.

Thesystemfortherestwashoweverdisastrous.Thesechildrenattended

lessersecondaryortechnicalschoolsandfacedtheprospectofeventual

educationoblivion.Theyfeltlikedumbfailures,whichhavingbeenofficiallyand

scientificallybranded.Nowondertheirmotivationtostudyplummeted.Itwas

notuntil1974thatthepubliceducationsystemwasfinallyreformed.Nowadays

itisbelievedthatBurthasfabricatedalotofhisdata.Havinganobsessionthat

intelligenceislargelygenetic,heapparentlymadeuptwinstudies,which

supportedthisidea,atthesametimeinventingtwoco-workerswhowere

supposedtohavegatheredtheresults.

Intelligencetestingenforcedpoliticalandsocialprejudiceandtheirresults

wereusedtoarguethatJewsoughttobekeptoutoftheUnitedStatesbecause

theyweresointelligentlyinferiorthattheywouldpollutetheracialmix.And

blacksoughtnottobeallowedtobreedatall.Abuseandtestbiascontroversies

continuedtoplaquepsychometrics.

Measurementisfundamentaltoscienceandtechnology.Scienceoften

advancesinleapsandboundswhenmeasurementdevicesimprove.

Psychometricshaslongtriedtodevelopwaystogaugepsychologicalqualities

suchasintelligenceandmorespecificabilities,anxiety,extroversion,emotional

stability,compatibilitywithmarriagepartnerandsoon.Theirscoresareoften

givenenormousweight.AsingleIQmeasurementcantakeonalifeofitsownif

teachersandparentsseeitasdefinitive.Itbecameamajorissueinthe70s

whencourtcaseswerelaunchedtostopanyonefrommakingimportant

decisionsbasedonIQtestscores,themaincriticismwasandstillisthatcurrent

testsdon'treallymeasureintelligence.Whetherintelligencecanbemeasuredat

allisstillcontroversial,somesayitcannotwhileotherssaythatIQtestsare

psychology'sgreatestaccomplishments.

全球變暖

ACanaryintheCoalMine

TheArcticseemstobegettingwarmer.Sowhat?

A."ClimatechangeintheArcticisarealitynow!”SoinsistsRobertCorell,an

oceanographerwiththeAmericanMeteorologicalSociety.Wild-eyed

proclamationsarealltoocommonwhenitcomestoglobalwarming,butinthis

casehisassertionseemswellfounded.

B.Atfirstsight,theACIA's(AmericanConstructionInspectorsAssociation)

report'sconclusionsarenotsosurprising.Afterallzscientistshavelong

suspectedthatseveralfactorsleadtogreatertemperatureswingsatthepoles

thanelsewhereontheplanet.Oneisalbedo—theposhscientificnameforhow

muchsunlightisabsorbedbyaplanet'ssurface,andhowmuchisreflected.

MostofthePolarRegionsarecoveredinsnowandice,whicharemuchmore

reflectivethansoilorocean.Ifthatsnowmelts,theexposureofdarkearth

(whichabsorbsheat)actsasafeedbackloopthataccelerateswarming.A

secondfactorthatmakesthepolesspecialisthattheatmosphereisthinner

therethanattheequator;andsolessenergyisrequiredtowarmitup.Athird

factoristhatlesssolarenergyislostinevaporationatthefrigidpolesthaninthe

steamytropics.

C.Andyetthelanguageofthisweek'sreportisstilleye-catching:"the

Arcticisnowexperiencingsomeofthemostrapidandsevereclimatechangeon

Earth."ThelastauthoritativeassessmentofthetopicwasdonebytheUN's

IntergovernmentalPanelonClimateChange(IPCC)in2023.Thatreportmade

headlinesbypredictingariseinsealevelofbetween10cm(fourinches)and

90cmzandatemperatureriseofbetween1.4℃and5.8℃overthiscentury.

However;itsauthorsdidnotfeelconfidentinpredictingeitherrapidpolar

warmingorthespeedydemiseoftheGreenlandicesheet.Pointingtoevidence

gatheredsincetheIPCCreport,thisweek'sreportsuggeststroubleliesahead.

D.TheACIAreckonsthatinrecentdecadesaveragetemperatureshave

increasedalmosttwiceasfastintheArcticastheyhaveintherestoftheworld.

Skepticsarguethatthereareplaces,suchasthehighlatitudesoftheGreenland

icesheetandsomebuoysatseazwheretemperaturesseemtohavefallen.On

theotherhand,therearealsoplaces,suchaspartsofAlaska,wheretheyhave

risenfarfasterthanaverage.RobinBell,ageophysicistatColumbiaUniversity

whowasnotinvolvedinthereporfscompilation,believesthatsuchconflicting

localtrendspointtothevalueoftheinternational,interdisciplinaryapproachof

thisweek'sreport.Ashpobserves,“climah?change,likethewpathpr;canhe

patchyandyoucangetfooledunlessyoulookatthewholepicture.M

E.AndthereisotherevidenceofwarmingtobolstertheACIA'scase.For

example,thereportdocumentsthewidespreadmeltingofglaciersandofsea

ice,atrendalreadymakinglifemiserableforthepolarbearsandsealsthat

dependonthatice.Italsonotesashorteningofthesnowseason.Themost

worryingfinding,however;istheevidence——stillpreliminary——thatthe

Greenlandicesheetmaybemeltingfasterthanpreviouslythought.

F.Thatpointstoonereasontheworldshouldpayattentiontothisweek's

report.Likeacanaryinacoalmine,thehypersensitivePolarRegionsmaywell

experiencethefullforceofglobalwarmingbeforetherestoftheplanetdoes.

However;thereisasecondandbiggerreasontopayattention.Anunexpectedly

rapidwarmingoftheArcticcouldalsoleaddirectlytogreaterclimatechange

elsewhereontheplanet.

G.Arcticwarmingmayinfluencetheglobalclimateinseveralways.Oneis

thathugeamountsofmethane,aparticularlypotentgreenhousegas,are

storedinthepermafrostofthetundra.Althoughathawwouldallowforeststo

invadethetundra,whichwouldtendtoameliorateanyglobalwarmingthatis

goingon(sincetreescapturecarbondioxide,thegreenhousegasmosttalked

aboutinthecontextofclimatechange),ameltingofthepermafrostmightalso

leadtoalotoftrappedmethanebeingreleasedintotheatmosphere,morethan

offsettingthecoolingeffectsofthenewforests.

H.AnotherworryisthatArcticwarmingwillinfluenceoceancirculationin

waysthatarenotfullyunderstood.Onelinkinthechainisthesalinityof

seawater;whichisdecreasinginthenorthAtlanticthankstoanincreasein

glacialmeltwaters,^Becausefreshwaterandsaltwaterhavedifferentdensities,

this'freshening'oftheoceancouldchangecirculationpatterns."saidDr.

Thomson,aBritishclimateexpert,"Themostcelebratedriskistothe

mid-AtlanticConveyorBelt,acurrentwhichbringswarmwaterfromthetropics

tonorth-westernEurope,andwhichisresponsibleforthatregion'sunusually

mildwinters,“headded.SomeoftheACIA'sexpertsarefrettingoverevidence

ofreduceddensityandsalinityinwatersneartheArcticthatcouldadversely

affectthiscurrent.

I.Thebiggestpopularworry,though,isthatmeltingArcticicecouldleadto

adramaticriseinsealevel.Here,afewcaveatsareneeded.Forastart,much

oftheiceintheArcticisfloatingintheseaalready.Archimedes'sprinciple

showsthatthemeltingofthisicewillmakenoimmediatedifferencetothesea's

level,althoughitwouldchangeitsalbedo.Second,iflandicezsuchasthat

coveringGreenland,doesmeltinlargequantities,theprocesswilltake

centuries.Andthird,althoughtheexpertsareindeedworriedthatglobal

warmingmightcausetheoceanstorise,themainwaytheybelievethiswill

happenisbythermalexpansionofthewateritself.

J.Nevertheless,thereissomecausefornervousness.AstheACTA

researchersdocument,therearesignsthatthemassiveGreenlandicesheet

mightbemeltingmorerapidlythanwasthoughtafewyearsago.Cracksinthe

sheetappeartobeallowingmeltwatertotrickletoitsbase,explainsMichael

Oppenheimer;aclimatologistatPrincetonUniversitywhowasnotoneofthe

report'sauthors.Thatwatermayactasalubricant,speedingupthesheet's

movementintothesea.Iftheentiresheetmelted,theseamightriseby6-7

meters.Butwhenwillthiskindofdisastrousicedisintegrationreallyhappen?

Whileacknowledgingitthiscenturyisstillanunlikelyoutcome,Dr.

Oppenheimerarguesthattheevidenceofthepastfewyearssuggestsitismore

likelytohappenoverthenextfewcenturiesiftheworlddoesnotreduce

emissionsofgreenhousegases.HeworriesthatanacceleratingArcticwarming

trendmayyetpushtheicemeltbeyondan^irreversibleon/offswitch'*.

K.Thatisscarystuff,butsomescientistsremcinunimpressed.Patrick

Michaels,aclimatologistattheUniversityofVirginia,complainsaboutthe

ACIA'sdataselection,whichhebelievesmayhaveproducedevidenceof

“spuriouswarming''.Healsopointsout,inanewbook,thatevenifArctic

temperaturesarerising,thatneednotleaddirectlytotheicemelting.Ashe

putsit,“Underglobalwarming,Greenland'siceindeedmightgrow,especiallyif

thewarmingoccursmostlyinwinter.Afterall,warmingtheairtendegrees

whenthetemperatureisdozensofdegreesbelowfreezingislikelytoincrease

snowfall,sincewarmerairisgAnprallymoistprandprecipitatesmorpwater.”

L.Nils-AxelMorner;aSwedishclimateexpertbasedatStockholmUniversity,

pointsoutthatobservedrisesinsealevelshavenotmatchedtheIPCC's

forecasts.Sincethisweek'sreportreliesonmanysuchIPCCassumptions,he

concludesitmustbewrong.Othersacknowledgethatthereisawarmingtrend

intheArctic,butinsistthatthecauseisnaturalvariabilityandnottheburning

offossilfuels.SuchfolkpointtotheextraordinarilyvolatilehistoryofArctic

temperatures.Thesevaried,oftensuddenly,longbeforesport-utilityvehicles

wereinvented.However;someevidencealsoshowsthatthepastfewmillennia

havebeenaperiodofunusualstabilityintheArctic.Itisjustpossiblethatthe

currentperiodofwarmingcouldtipthedelicateArcticclimatesystemoutof

balance,andsodragtherestoftheplanetwithit.

M.Noteverybodywantstohearastoryliketha:.Butwhatpeopletruly

believeishappeningcanbeseenintheiractionsbetterthanintheirwords.One

ofthereporfsmostconfidentpredictionsisthatthebreakupofArcticicewill

opentheregiontolong-distanceshippingand,ironically,todrillingforoiland

gas.Itissurelynocoincidence,then,thattheDanishgovernment,which

controlsGreenland,hasjustdeclareditsintentiontoclaimthemineralrights

undertheNorthPole,It,atleast,clearlybelievesthattheArcticoceanmaysoon

bei人類文字進化史

HistoryofWriting

WritingwasfirstinventedbytheSumeriansinancientMesopotamiabefore

3,000BC.ItwasalsoindependentlyinventedinMeso-Americabefore600BC

andprobablyindependentlyinventedinChinabefore1,300BC.Itmayhave

beenindependentlyinventedinEgyptaround3,000BCalthoughgiventhe

geographicalproximitybetweenEgyptandMesopotamiatheEgyptiansmay

havelearntwritingfromtheSumerians.

Therearethreebasictypesofwritingsystems.Thewrittensignsusedby

thewritingsystemcouldrepresenteitherawholeword,asyllableoran

individualsound.Wherethewrittensignrepresentsawordthesystemisknown

aslogographicasituseslogogramswhicharewrittensignsthatrepresenta

word.TheearliestwritingsystemssuchastheSumeriancuneiform,Egyptian

hieroglyphicsandMayanglyphsarepredominantlylogographicsasaremodern

ChineseandJapanesewritingsystems.Wherethewrittensignrepresentsa

syllablethewritingsystemisknownassyllabic.Syllabicwritingsystemswere

morecommonintheancientworldthantheyaretoday.TheLinearAandB

writingsystemsofMinoanCreteandMycenaeanGreecearesyllabic.Themost

commonwritingsystemstodayarealphabetical.Theseinvolvethewrittensign

(aletter)representingasinglesound(knownasaphoneme).Theearliest

knownalphabeticalsystemsweredevelopedbyspeakersofsemeticlanguages

around1700BCintheereaofmoderndayIsraelandPalestine.Allwritten

languageswillpredominatelyuseoneorotheroftheabovesystems.Theymay

howeverpartlyusetheothersystems.Nowrittenlanguageispurelyalphabetic,

syllabicorlogographicbutmayuseelementsfromanyorallsystems.

Suchfullydevelopedwritingonlyemergedafterdevelopmentfromsimplier

systems.Talleystickswithnotchesonthemtorepresentanumberofsheepor

torecordadebthavebeenusedinthepast.Knottedsrringshavebeenusedas

aformofrecordkeepingparticularlyintheareaaroundthePacificrim.They

reachedtheirgreatestdevelopmentwiththeIncaquipjswheretheywereused

torecordpaymentoftributeandtorecordcommercialtransactions.Aspecially

trainedgroupofquipumakersandreadersmanagedthewholesystem.Theuse

ofpicturesforthepurposeofcommunicationwasusedbynativeAmericansand

bytheAshantiandEwepeopleinAfrica.Picturescanshowqualitiesand

characteristicswhichcannotbeshownbytallysticksandknotrecords.Theydo

nothoweveramounttowritingastheydonotbearaconventionalrelationship

tolanguage.Evenso,theGelbdictum(fromitsoriginatorIgnaceGelb),that“At

thebasisofallwritingstandsthepicture,,hasbeenwidelyaccep