Could honeybees help us communicate with aliens in the future?
What's the story
A group of researchers has proposed that honeybees could be the key to developing a universal language for communicating with extraterrestrial life. The theory is based on an eight-year study that found bees are capable of solving simple mathematical problems such as addition and subtraction. The researchers suggest that if two species as different as humans and honeybees can do math, then it could serve as the basis for a universal language.
Research findings
Bees' mathematical abilities
The researchers, who published their thought experiment in the journal Leonardo, noted that humans and bees diverged over 600 million years ago. Despite this vast evolutionary gap, both species possess communication skills, social behavior, and some degree of mathematical ability. The team believes that if extraterrestrial species exist with sufficiently advanced brains, they may also have the ability to do math.
Study details
Learning process of bees
Between 2016 and 2023, scientists studied how bees learn math by participating in outdoor tests. The study found that the insects could do simple addition and subtraction, tell odd from even, and order quantities of items. They even understood the concept of zero and could associate the symbols with numbers.
Historical attempts
Mathematical communication with extraterrestrial beings
This isn't the first time math has been proposed as a way to communicate with extraterrestrial beings. The Golden Records on Voyager 1 and 2 have mathematical quantities etched on them. The hope was that aliens would understand these and humans could "communicate a story of our world to extraterrestrials." Similarly, the 1974 Arecibo radio message sent into space contained 1,679 zeros and ones to convey information about numbers one to 10, and atomic numbers of DNA's building blocks.