Taylorism

Biological Parallel

Termite mounds embody Taylorism's time-motion optimization: soldiers have enlarged heads for defense but cannot feed themselves; workers must feed them mouth-to-mouth. This extreme specialization creates dependency but maximizes efficiency—soldiers defend 10x more effectively than generalists, while workers build 5x faster without defensive morphology slowing them. Taylor's "one best way" becomes evolutionary reality when ecological pressure rewards narrow optimization over flexibility.