INTPs and Ants

[Lol]

Reading around on some of the threads on this forum, I realised that a lot of us have had some sort of fascination with ants during childhood - whether it be observing, collecting or torturing them.

Is this an INTP thing or does every child do this?

 

[Architect]

Not particularly.

 

[DeadonDreaming]

I used to burn them . I don't know why. You put lighter fluid down into the ant hole, then when you feel its got into as many chamber down there as possible, you light the entrance on fire, and if you're successful the entire structure will burn for a really long time, with ants scurrying out on fire. Eventually you might see the queen come out, a huge ant, also on fire. Interesting to see the entire ant colony come out to burn.

An older friend was obsessed with it, and kept doing it. Seeing the different types of ants come out, that you never see, was interesting.

 

[Nocturne]

Hm... Ants, eh?
In general, I enjoyed collecting bugs in a little jar. They died rather quickly though, and I found myself attempting to dissect them with tweezers afterwards. ...

Once a caterpillar stayed alive long enough to transfigure into a functioning moth. Somehow. ... >.<

 

[LarsMac]

I was into fireflies when I was a kid.
Ants were ok by me, until I found a nest of fireants.
I hate ants, now.

I tried to bring home an anteater once, but the zookeeper had a problem with that.

 

[Ex-User (5841)]

Typical ants as anything but societies are over-rated. Velvet ants, on the other hand...

 

[Solitaire U.]

Ants are tenacious, industrious little bastards. I enjoy watching them carry dead insects 50 times larger than themselves on insanely long journeys back to their nest...

Which makes their apparent affinity for committing mass suicide in my dog's water bowl all the more puzzling.

 

[Proletar]

I used to burn them . I don't know why. You put lighter fluid down into the ant hole, then when you feel its got into as many chamber down there as possible, you light the entrance on fire, and if you're successful the entire structure will burn for a really long time, with ants scurrying out on fire. Eventually you might see the queen come out, a huge ant, also on fire. Interesting to see the entire ant colony come out to burn.

I didn't believe in evil INTPs until now.

 

[MsAnthropy_Indefatigably]

I find creatures in general fascinating (except cockroaches--FUCK cockroaches!), but have never ventured to say that I enjoyed them actively or had any particular fascination with ants.

 

[Architect]

I was interested in getting an ant colony, one of those plastic sandwich display cases so you can see them building the tunnels. I think the architecture aspect of it fascinated me even then, but unfortunately never had one.

 

[MissQuote]

I really like ants.

I spent two months in the summer when I was twenty doing just about nothing but observing ants in the back yard. Fun times. They like caramel, it seems to make them a little drunk and they can't make themselves leave it, even when they try to walk away they turn right back around. Don't seem to care for saltines much.

Check this out!

Giant Ant Colony Excavated!!!!!

 

[DeadonDreaming]

I didn't believe in evil INTPs until now.

I was 3, at most 5.

 

[Cognisant]

I was interested in getting an ant colony, one of those plastic sandwich display cases so you can see them building the tunnels. I think the architecture aspect of it fascinated me even then, but unfortunately never had one.

Get two big sheets of glass and a lot of ant gel (http://www.antgel.com/) and build a frame around the glass, ideally one that has a very good seal.

I have wondered at length about the viability of using certain bugs for things, after all they're very efficient creatures, easy to feed, and they breed prolifically, I figure sautéd scorpions with chickensalt would be great if sold like potato chips, or honeypot ants dipped in chocolate could be sold in a box, I mean it's not like everybody doesn't eat bee vomit without a care in the world.

There's lots of talk about making fibres as strong as spider silk for use in body armour and high strength cables, well why not harvest actual spider silk, you could even selectively breed them for greater silk strength and quantity, it wouldn't be so labour intensive to harvest either if you have them clipped in place with food brought to them or selectively breed them to put silk on a frame exactly as you want it, they're like tiny robots in some ways.

 

[INeedToPee]

no particular interest for ants from me. they're just not very exceptional or interesting to me. they are a nuisance to me if anything.

one time at camp the camp leader/counselor (whatever he was called) told us they were edible. so i thought "cool, i wonder what they taste like" picked one up and ate it. they were just sour, meh.

 

[Proletar]

I was 3, at most 5.

Ah, ok. Those are strange times.

 

[Deleted member 1424]

Yet not concerned that DoD had access to lighter fluid at 3-5?

You must have some interesting scars Dod.

 

[DeadonDreaming]

Yet not concerned that DoD had access to lighter fluid at 3-5?

You must have some interesting scars Dod.

When I was little, I lived in Russia for a little bit, near a tank depot junkyard place, and played with artillery shells and mines when the Soviet Union collapsed since I didn't really have any friends because I didn't speak Russian.. I was fiddling with some mines, then buried them in some fields out in the middle of nowhere, pretending tanks were attacking me. I would lay down in the trees, make VROOOM noises, and pretend the mines blew up the tanks. I tried to throw rocks where I thought the mines were buried to simulate the tanks running them over, but they didn't blow up, so I just walked home. I have no idea if they are still there, since I figured it probably wasn't a good idea to dig them up or get any closer to the mines, and I didn't want to tell my parents because then they wouldn't let me play in the junkyard place any more. Lighter fluid was the least of anyone's worries.

Looking back on it, they were probably anti-tank mines, so there probably isn't anything to worry about.

 

[Beholder]

I love ants, I find them fascinating.
When I was a kid I used to spend hours just slaughtering ants in all kinds of creative ways, and when you kill them more ants always come to collect the bodies, so they just keep coming. At some point I discovered that if you put ants from different nests together they start fighting and killing each other, so I would collect armies of ants and try to invade other nests. It was really really fun, I think I'm gonna start doing that again...
Also I'm really interested in ants and other insects, I used to read a lot about them and watch documentaries and stuff, they're such amazing creatures.

 

[EyeSeeCold]

Reading around on some of the threads on this forum, I realised that a lot of us have had some sort of fascination with ants during childhood - whether it be observing, collecting or torturing them.

Is this an INTP thing or does every child do this?

I'm not sure where you read that... The most I ever did was give ants a chunk of some food I had at the time, when I came across ant trails outside.

Ants are so small, to notice them requires some concentrated attention to details. So kids that are fascinated with ants are probably the same ones diagnosed with AD(H)D. I think that's as far as you can reasonably speculate in terms of personality.

 

[IdeasNotTheProblem]

I used to spend a lot of time catching grasshoppers and tossing them into spider webs and then watch the spider go to work. It sounds cruel when I look back at it now, but at the time it was fascinating.

 

[DIALECTIC]

Same here i was quite fascinated by them but i was a cruel bastard to them (i couldn't hurt a fly nowadays as i value life, any life, too much).
I think it was more out of boredom than real fascination as such though.

 

[Etheri]

I didn't mess with ants much, but my brother and I once got it into our heads to try and remove a wasp nest by ourselves. We succeeded, but I did end up getting stung a few times.

 

[Lol]

I'm not sure where you read that... The most I ever did was give ants a chunk of some food I had at the time, when I came across ant trails outside.

Ants are so small, to notice them requires some concentrated attention to details. So kids that are fascinated with ants are probably the same ones diagnosed with AD(H)D. I think that's as far as you can reasonably speculate in terms of personality.

The 'Shit you did as a child' thread.

 

[Sorlaize]

At our house we had ants just outside sometimes, so we'd pour hot water down there and they'd come out dead mostly I think. When hot water wasn't something I was allowed to grab, running them over with a tricycle was fun. I remember bits of ants on big plastic wheels, haha. I did stuff like chopping them in half.

At some point I discovered that if you put ants from different nests together they start fighting and killing each other, so I would collect armies of ants and try to invade other nests.

Sounds AWESOME


--

Also, flying ants. They were so terrifying and freakish that I always felt they deserved the burning watery death.

 

[Fghw]

I hate being near them