Hive-Mind

Two recent news articles relevant to bees and the hive mind:

Bumblebee boogie analysis in webserver boost: The title has it wrong, as the algorithms are actually based on honey bee behavior, not bumblebee, but I’m not one to grudge a guy an alliteration. Noting that

Bees have no central command or leadership (the “queen” is mainly concerned with laying eggs rather than directing the nectar harvest). Rather, the cunning insect workers pass information to each other by doing complicated little dances in the hive.

Craig Tovey of Georgia Tech developed a similar “dancefloor” approach that allows servers to distribute load to one another, rather than relying on a central decision-maker.

Second, there’s an interesting interview with Toby Segaran, author of the recently published Programming Collective Intelligence. Definitely worth a read, if you’re in the field.

On another note, if you’re interested in Toby’s experimental approach to avoiding jet lag (simply continue to operate on your home time zone’s schedule), check out his blog.

(Bumblee Boogie link via rb.Trends)

Another article on the Hive Mind, this one from NPR.org: Robots Infiltrate, Influence Cockroach Groups. In this one, scientists have somehow programmed tiny robots that interact with cockroaches in such a way that the cockroaches accept them as just another roach (with the help of scent, it sounds like). Then they demonstrate how individuals can influence the decision making of the hive (although roaches aren’t technically a hive, they engage in similar group decision-making processes).

Cool stuff, much better than previous article where humans were told to walk around according to robotic rules, I think.

(Thanks for the tip, Marc!)

PS I’ve got a load of beekeeping / honey stories built up from the European trip we’re on, coming soon…

Interesting article in Tuesday’s New York Times on s Swarm Intelligence, a favorite topic here: From Ants to People, an Instinct to Swarm.

Ito does a good job of explaining the basic concept of swarm intelligence and the hive mind, but, I think, falls a bit short on giving examples of the “harder problems” that swarm intelligence can solve, instead focusing on the group decision-making.

Yes, it’s true that, as the article discusses, a flock of birds can decide as a group which way to fly without discussing it and voting, and yes, it’s true that ants will naturally form into nested
columns with knowing that’s what they’re doing, but there’s so much more to the phenomenon. For example, what about the way that ants can decide on which is a superior food source without singe individuals visiting the options, or how bees can discern between different potential homes? To me, that’s the deeper question.

And the example given on human swarm behavior is just a cheat: handing a piece of paper to a human and telling him to act like a swarming robot isn’t an example of human swarming behavior. Come on, there are better examples of human swarming behaviors. Believe me, I’ve been to enough stadium concerts, I’ve watched the stock market, I’ve seen enough fashion trends come and go to know this, and so do you.

Still, the article does a really good job of explaining the basic mechanics of swarm intelligence, and there’s a nice hint at the end of some potential applications of the research. Definitely worth the read!

(Thanks Sean and Marc for sending the link!)

If you’re visiting this site because you saw my talk at the Web 2.0 Expo in Berlin, Willkommen! As a bit of background, I’m taking a break from software (talk to me if you’re interested in mobile!) and beekeeping to backpacking Europe with my wife Michelle for three months (see our travel blog if you’re interested in what that’s like).

Some old posts you might be interested in:

• Beekeeping and the Hive Mind
• Beekeeping and the Hive Mind Redux
• Bee v. Yellowjacket Smackdown
• Swarm! Swarm! Swarm!
• Beecalypse Now

Hope you stick around!

Apparently, they call mead “hydromel” (water honey?) in France. I found a bottle sealed with beeswax at a little farmer’s market in the absolutely beautiful town of Cassis, along the southern Coast, between Marseilles and St. Tropez. I’ll let you know how it turns out.

As a bonus, when I told the beekeeper we had “deux ruches” back in Seattle, he didn’t scorn our “city honey”. Rest of the story of the day and the beautiful city of Cassis on our travel blog.

When you think of France, you think of wine (and snails and frog’s legs), right? Well, I swear there are as many varieties of honey here as there are wines. Every little grocery store we go into has four or five different varieties from the region, light, dark, and crystallized.

We’ve been reluctant to buy lots of bottles of honey, as we are living out of our backpacks more or less (we’ve rented a car for a week, but then it’s two more months of carrying everything on our backs). We did buy one small jar of crystallized honey to go with our baguettes in the morning. We chose crystallized so it wouldn’t drip on our limited supply of clothing. That’s it in the back left in the picture of our trunk-top countryside snack.

We also resisted the temptation to stay in L’Abeille Hotel (“The Bee Hotel”) in Orleans, despite the fact that the guidebook said the smell of honey still “wafts through the corridors”. I can sniff honey at home, I suppose.

Michelle found a write up of a particular apiary today here in Beaujolais that would give tours of their apiaries, Miellerie du Fut d’Avenas. It was a long, misty drive up through the hills to find it, but when we got there, unfortunately, it was closed, nobody home. We left them a note and a Hive Mind sticker.