Bees Can Solve Math Problems That Would Stump the Average Toddler

[Judi Lynn]

By Yasemin Saplakoglu, Staff Writer | February 6, 2019 02:00pm ET

Bees don't just buzz around and make honey; they also do math problems in their free time that would stump the average 4-year-old.

Last year, a group of researchers in Australia reported that bees understand the concept of "zero." Now, a new study by the same group suggests that the insects can also do basic addition and subtraction. The team reported its findings today (Feb. 6) in the journal Science Advances.

A couple of decades ago, scientists thought that such higher-level processing was limited to human and some other primate brains. But then, researchers looked a bit closer, finding that dolphins could understand what zero meant and that Alex the parrot (and even some spiders) could do basic arithmetic.

The findings called into question the "position that there's something special about the human brain," said the new study's senior author, Adrian Dyer, an associate professor at RMIT University in Melbourne, Australia. [The 5 Smartest Non-Primates on the Planet]

More:
https://www.livescience.com/64699-bees-can-do-math.html?utm_source=notification

[Jarqui]

1. I love posts/articles like this. Thanks nt

[Ohiogal]

2. The bees are smarter than Donald Trump.

[cstanleytech]

3. Real question is are they grasping it like humans or more along the lines of

simply behavior recognizing something is missing and thus they need to get more of it and or want to be given more of whatever it is which in my cats case comes down more along the lines of *sninkt* claw extended *sninkt* "Give me some more Sheba Pate Signature Seafood Entrée or else!!".

[rickford66]

4. But how about calculus ?

I bet they can't do that. Now watch. Someone will dig up a study where they skipped it and went directly to differential equations. This hasn't been my day.

[underpants]

5. Well, they multiply pretty well

There's that

[underpants]

6. Oh yeah, if they're so smart why aren't the called "A's"?

It's because they are "B" students

[struggle4progress]

7. Wa need a "Take your bee to calculus class" day