An interesting way to start 2009. I am indebted to herdmeister Mark Earls for forwarding me to this article. In brief bees get a kick out of waggledancing - it makes them feel valuedby the community. So much so that if you give them illegal substances they carry on waggledancing even if they have no nectar to report. Why and how a research scientist decides that the frontiers of knowledge can be rolled forward by coking up bees I don't intend to speculate on. Nor what the effect on the honey might be!

 But my thought for the day is the danger of signalling that we're onto something when we haven't got a solution yet. Its a reminder that the desire for recognition is strong - stronger than being truthful. Crazed for recognition we can do strange things. So worth doing an internal truth check - am I onto something or am I trying not to rock the boat?  

 For today I am linking to a blog posting about Waggledancing no less which suggests that there is a conflict of interest. Despite what the waggledancer is telling the other bees - they are still inclined to go whether they last remember finding nectar. Here's the article from NY times March 25th 2008.

 And my point? Well here it is. It is a real possibility that despite whatever you say that your audience will resort to habit instead of taking onboard the new information that you give them. Knowing that what do you do? Don't go onto automatic pilot - think about what you have to do to overcome inertia. Because inertia is real. So anticipate and deal with it. You have to be more persuasive than their inertia. They have to believe there's more nectar where you are pointing than where they last found nectar themselves. That's how good you have to be.

And quote of the day comes from the blog InfiniteBody where I found the piece above written by the New York dance writer Eva Yaa Asantewaa

The Church says: The body is a sin./Science says: The body is a machine./Advertising says: The body is a business./The body says: I am a fiesta.” -- Eduardo Galeano