Science has driven another nail into the coffin of human uniqueness. (Google [Bee genes may drive them to adventure].) This is yet another example of chapter 56’s, This is called profound sameness.
Soon—in a thousand years more or less—we’ll be forced to admit that, while we see ourselves as unique, we are actually profoundly similar to lesser animals. Science is slowly but surely pulling us back to greater humility and a more rational point of view.
The Science News article describes how researchers found some underlying motivational forces that effect how bees forage. Here are the concluding few paragraphs:
The work suggests that evolution may use the same genetic toolkit across species for behavioral traits, much in the way that related genes are used for building body parts, whether in a fruit fly or frog.
And the work adds to growing evidence that humans aren’t the only species that have personalities.
“If you ask people if they think a squid has personality, they usually say no,” says psychologist Sam Gosling of the University of Texas at Austin. But individual squid, and apparently bees, may consistently seek new things. In animals, scientists call that “novelty-seeking,” while people who exhibit similar traits get labels like “extrovert.”
Without the rigorous honesty that the scientific process requires, humanity would still be merrily rolling along with its species-centric myths of human superiority, oblivious to the deeper reality we share with all life on earth.