Thomas D. Seeley

I enjoyed this on two levels. First, it's a great description of the activity of "doing science". it seems that sometimes in our society that science is viewed as a sacred body of True Facts facts rather than as a human activity by which we, little by little, discover more about the universe we inhabit. the author uses an easy, conversational style to describe his questions, what he did to investigate, and what he discovered as a result.
The book is also a fascinating exploration of how a swarm of honey bees find a new home. "Hives" get a bad rap in our society. It suggests a bunch of mindless slaves dominated by a cruel despot. Seeley demonstrates here that the hive is actually a democracy. The queen does not rule or control the hive, but merely lays eggs and is subject to the colony. The honey bee colony chooses its new home from several options discovered by scout bees, who return to the swarm, advertise their find, then let the swarm choose.
There is a lot of food for thought here regarding human communities and how they function (or fail to function).… (altro)