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Honeybees make decisions collectively--and democratically. Every year, faced with the life-or-death problem of choosing and traveling to a new home, honeybees stake everything on a process that includes collective fact-finding, vigorous debate, and consensus building. In fact, as world-renowned animal behaviorist Thomas Seeley reveals, these incredible insects have much to teach us when it comes to collective wisdom and effective decision making. A remarkable and richly illustrated account of scientific discovery, Honeybee Democracy brings together, for the first time, decades of Seeley's pioneering research to tell the amazing story of house hunting and democratic debate among the honeybees. In the late spring and early summer, as a bee colony becomes overcrowded, a third of the hive stays behind and rears a new queen, while a swarm of thousands departs with the old queen to produce a daughter colony. Seeley describes how these bees evaluate potential nest sites, advertise their discoveries to one another, engage in open deliberation, choose a final site, and navigate together--as a swirling cloud of bees--to their new home. Seeley investigates how evolution has honed the decision-making methods of honeybees over millions of years, and he considers similarities between the ways that bee swarms and primate brains process information. He concludes that what works well for bees can also work well for people: any decision-making group should consist of individuals with shared interests and mutual respect, a leader's influence should be minimized, debate should be relied upon, diverse solutions should be sought, and the majority should be counted on for a dependable resolution. An impressive exploration of animal behavior, Honeybee Democracy shows that decision-making groups, whether honeybee or human, can be smarter than even the smartest individuals in them.
Reviews with the most likes.
I think my favorite thing about this author is how much credit he gives to those who have helped him. You don't often hear about all the undergrads who put in hours of grunt work to make research possible. I really appreciated that Dr. Seeley didn't just mention them as an after notes either. He highlighted their work ethic and importance to his successful research.
I'm definitely biased about this book because attending Dr. Seeley's seminar on “The Flight Guidance Mechanisms of Honey Bee Swarms” motivated me more than anything during my second semester of college. His enthusiasm for honeybee behavior is incredibly contagious.
I'm really glad I was encouraged to pick up this book so many years later. Dr. Seeley does a great job of explaining things in layman's terms and answers questions quickly after they enter the reader's mind.