# Stigmergy

If a node is seen to be acting unreliably, it is simply ignored by other nodes by being removed from their routing tables and it will not earn any more tokens.&#x20;

The closest parallels for this come from nature. Stigmergy is a scientific term to describe the mechanisms that ants, termites and bees use to create complex, resilient societies, without requiring central planning, control, or direct communication between the elements. These insects follow simple chemical signals to validate that individuals are who they purport to be, rather than invaders from another colony, and that they are behaving as they should. In the Autonomi Network, deviance is punished by being ignored and unable to earn.&#x20;

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Autonomi is a probabilistic, self-organizing system that reinforces good behaviours by providing a logical pathway for them, self-correcting for unwanted behaviours over time.
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With this approach, so long as the rules are carefully written and properly implemented, it is possible to exceed the limit of one-third of nodes being Byzantine inherent in the "Proof of" approaches and still be protected against things like double spends.

