» A new study shows that honeybees have a collective decision-making process that incorporates an open forum of ideas, frank "discussions" and friendly competition. "The bees' method, which is a product of disagreement and contest rather than consensus or compromise, consistently yields excellent collective decisions." Thomas Seeley, Professor of neurobiology and behavior at Cornell.
rebecca's pocket
.: May 2006 --> Bees' decision making skills better than most committees
Bees' decision making skills better than most committees
[ 05.02.06 ]
Yes, but how happy are they?? Aside from flippancy in my response, the comment stands as a request for clarification that some social communities who expect and even foster disagreement will be able to reap the benefits of conflict. Maybe bee status improves with effective and overt challenges (i.e., using appropriate bee codes certainly). Human communities, on the other hand, require some schmoozing and a solid track record to interpret competition as friendly. And unfriendly competition often devolves into rampant recrimination rather than a thoughtful consideration of multiple alternatives. Please, please don't make the findings too a-contextual.