Abstract
I am going to compare the strategies and communication bees use in order to locate and retrieve nectar to the world of science and the scientist. The analogy is intentionally anthropomorphic but I wish to argue that if successful bees made assumptions they would be similar to those of the scientist: flowers can be regarded as facts, nectar as knowledge, honey as technology and their ‘waggle-dance’ as communication of ideas. I would like to say that this is to be used as an analogy and should not be taken to be a statement of the scientific method as an emergent property of nature, as evolution ultimately does not care about what is true or false, whereas science does. However, what i do wish to convey is that in the same way that the life of bees can be limited by the process of their enquiries; science can also limit itself by the assumptions that are taken to be true or worthwhile in the quest for new knowledge.
Recommended Citation
Trubody, Ben
(2011)
"The Bee-haviour of Scientists: An Analogy of Science from the World of Bees,"
Between the Species:
Vol. 14:
Iss.
1, Article 6.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.15368/bts.2011v14n1.1
Available at:
https://digitalcommons.calpoly.edu/bts/vol14/iss1/6