stigmergy

Meaning

Noun

• A mechanism of spontaneous, indirect coordination between agents or actions, where the trace left in the environment by an action stimulates the performance of a subsequent action.
• A mechanism of indirect coordination between agents or actions, in which the aftereffects of one action guide a subsequent action.

Origin

• Coined in 1959 by French biologist Pierre-Paul Grassé in reference to termite behaviour, from the Ancient Greek στίγμα + ἔργον.