Comments on: How headbutts and dances give bees a hive mind http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/notrocketscience/2011/12/08/how-headbutts-and-dances-give-bees-a-hive-mind/ Mon, 26 Nov 2012 12:00:51 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.4.2 By: Tim J http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/notrocketscience/2011/12/08/how-headbutts-and-dances-give-bees-a-hive-mind/#comment-13736 Tim J Mon, 12 Dec 2011 19:37:23 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/notrocketscience/?p=5950#comment-13736 I don't think you can call this "quite literally a mind". Does the swarm as a whole have subjective consciousness? Is it self-aware? Are we even able to define what a mind is? The furthest we can go is to say that they form a data-processing system. I don’t think you can call this “quite literally a mind”. Does the swarm as a whole have subjective consciousness? Is it self-aware? Are we even able to define what a mind is? The furthest we can go is to say that they form a data-processing system.

]]> By: CJSF http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/notrocketscience/2011/12/08/how-headbutts-and-dances-give-bees-a-hive-mind/#comment-13735 CJSF Fri, 09 Dec 2011 14:23:07 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/notrocketscience/?p=5950#comment-13735 Haha. "...our brains are abuzz with agreements and vetoes." Nice. This is fascinating. Thank you for giving my Friday a great start! CJSF Haha. “…our brains are abuzz with agreements and vetoes.” Nice. This is fascinating. Thank you for giving my Friday a great start!

CJSF

]]> By: Mephane http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/notrocketscience/2011/12/08/how-headbutts-and-dances-give-bees-a-hive-mind/#comment-13734 Mephane Fri, 09 Dec 2011 07:47:50 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/notrocketscience/?p=5950#comment-13734 It is quite interesting in how bee hives are different from ant colonies. Ants tend to find food sources etc. by following scent trails left behind other workers from their colony, and seem to operate more in a probabilistic fashion, i.e. try out every possible outcome, and the more 'likely' ones (with likely meaning things like "relatively close food source") will occur more often, until they eventually overshadow the alternatives and the typical "ant roads" emerge. In light of this, bee hives seem to find consensus in exactly the opposite way, by discussing alternatives and only then sending the workers out, while ants send out the workers and let probability do the rest. It is quite interesting in how bee hives are different from ant colonies. Ants tend to find food sources etc. by following scent trails left behind other workers from their colony, and seem to operate more in a probabilistic fashion, i.e. try out every possible outcome, and the more ‘likely’ ones (with likely meaning things like “relatively close food source”) will occur more often, until they eventually overshadow the alternatives and the typical “ant roads” emerge.

In light of this, bee hives seem to find consensus in exactly the opposite way, by discussing alternatives and only then sending the workers out, while ants send out the workers and let probability do the rest.

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