Study Finds That Bees Can Make Better and Faster Decisions Than Humans

“A honey bee has a brain smaller than a sesame seed, and yet she can make decisions faster and more accurately than we can,” said corresponding author Andrew Barron

A recent Macquarie University study published in the journal eLife shows how a honey bee, which has a brain the size of sesame seed, can make better, more informed and even faster decisions than humans.

Yes, you read that right, a simple honey bee is better at making decisions than you or even the smartest human being that you know. Researchers believe that these honey producing bees have been “engineered” over millions of years to make ‘fast decisions that involve the lowest risks’, now that would make them the perfect investment bankers in an imaginary World, Wouldn’t it?

The Macquarie University study shows how understanding the insect brain can help us understand how human brains have evolved over millions of years, while also helping us understand how we can develop better and more efficient robots.

Researchers involved in the study have created a model that shows the decision-making amongst bees, while also highlighting the paths in their brains that allow them to make these fast and low risk decisions.

“Decision-making is at the core of cognition. It’s the result of an evaluation of possible outcomes, and animal lives are full of decisions. A honey bee has a brain smaller than a sesame seed. And yet she can make decisions faster and more accurately than we can,” says Andrew Barron, who is a corresponding author of the study and also a professor at Macquarie University Australia.

“A robot programmed to do a bee’s job would need the backup of a supercomputer,” he added, comparing and shedding light to the massive decision making capabilities honey bees possess.