I think we humans have something of a tunnel vision when it comes to projecting the components of our homeostasis because we see our well-being and future as being achievable by following a linear path to a particular goal, i.e. a good mate, nice dwelling, social status, car, clothes, recognition, etc. However, psychology, economics, anthropology and other social sciences are plagued with examples indicating that not to be so and that upon obtaining one goal humans in modern society instantly replace it with another that seems to be just as immediate for long term well-being and satisfaction. So, what does that have to do with our little friends eating preferences? I would love to see oats being replaced with  good mate, nice dwelling, social status, car, clothes, recognition, etc. and see how it behaves. 

Obviously, I postulated a pipe dream of being able to draw parallels between the behavior of one dimensional small creatures and that multi-faceted humans. However, seeing the choices these small fellows make would certainly be fascinating and definitely make us feel like feel like Greek gods.  

Hi Glenn - I'm fascinated by the description of slime mold as a single cell with multiple nuclei. Do you know of any other instances of a multiple centered single cell in nature? (I'm interested because I'm asking what's the human analogy.) - John