Inspired by a book on ›ant societies,‹ Katrin Bretschneider and Doris Weinberger set off on a search for collective intelligence: the much-noticed ›herd mentality,‹ swarm-oriented thought, the ant algorithm shaping our society. How have ants been depicted by humans in the course of history and how have we adopted these depictions as models for our own human coexistence? In their lecture performance, Bretschneider and Weinberger project fictions and superficial knowledge with the power of art and science, raising questions pertaining to the past, present and future. Swarm, herd – system, state: When and why do we regard them as an ideal or conversely as a specte