Overview
- Researchers link 2016–2024 experiments showing bees can add or subtract one, recognize zero, order quantities, distinguish odd from even, and map symbols to numbers to the idea of math as shared cognition.
- Because humans and honeybees diverged more than 600 million years ago yet both show basic numerical abilities, the authors argue such concepts may arise independently across very different brains.
- The proposal builds on longstanding SETI practice, citing the Voyager Golden Records and the 1974 Arecibo message that encoded information using mathematical and physical quantities.
- Co-author Adrian Dyer of Monash University says bees’ performance provides a solid basis for devising stepwise, possibly binary, message designs for testing universal concepts.
- The authors emphasize practical limits and next steps, including exploring cross-species mathematical ‘dialects,’ scaling from simple counting to more abstract ideas, and coping with multi-year signal delays.