A question about steiner networks?

Well of course, a direct path from A to B is shorter due to the triangle inequality, but if you must traverse to one of several possible locations, or if a group of ants was going to split and travel to several nests, then having a point S would be an improvement. Similarly, if ants from several nests had to mass to accomplish a task, then once again a centrally located point of convergence would minimize total distance traveled by the group. I think you have to consider the dynamics involved with the uncertainty of choosing a path on the one hand, and the energetics of mass convergence of ants from several points in a network of nests on the other, to make sense of this. I agree, the article could have been written better (as could my response to your question), but in the author's attempt to simplify matters, confusion arose.