Ben Waber reviewed Mind of a Bee by Lars Chittka
An Incredible, Thought-Provoking Look at Bee Cognition
5 stars
Lars Chittka has penned a masterpiece, using witty writing with fascinating narratives around the genesis of different experiments to lay out a solid case for bees as capable of far more cognition than most people think. Starting from an exploration of bee sensory mechanisms (the sections on navigation and light polarization were amazing), then moving to a wide variety of experiments to detail just how much bees can plan, remember, and reason. Some of the sections on group behavior was less compelling, since while Chittka briefly explores complexity theory it wasn't touched on in the section on hive construction.
Overall this is one of the best books on cognition that I've read, and with all the hype about "general intelligence" folks would be well advised to pick up a copy of this book before opining on the topic. Highly recommend
Lars Chittka has penned a masterpiece, using witty writing with fascinating narratives around the genesis of different experiments to lay out a solid case for bees as capable of far more cognition than most people think. Starting from an exploration of bee sensory mechanisms (the sections on navigation and light polarization were amazing), then moving to a wide variety of experiments to detail just how much bees can plan, remember, and reason. Some of the sections on group behavior was less compelling, since while Chittka briefly explores complexity theory it wasn't touched on in the section on hive construction.
Overall this is one of the best books on cognition that I've read, and with all the hype about "general intelligence" folks would be well advised to pick up a copy of this book before opining on the topic. Highly recommend
