If you watch Fireflies closely, some species will sync up their flashing to eventually blink as a group. Pretty mesmerizing stuff. But how to they do it?
So, how do thousands of fireflies pick a leader to follow, a maestro to keep their flashing in time? The answer, the scientists found, is simple: They don’t.
Nicky Case created a tool which explains and visualizes how it works. By default they all blink individually, but once you hit the “Nudge thy neighbour” option on, you’ll see them sync up.
Via Kottke — Be sure to watch the video if you want to know more about spontaneous synchronization