Researching the way other animals’ minds work can deepen our understanding of the human mind, especially when there are differences. For example, our new study has shown that bumblebees can forget basic information within minutes, though they can still make complicated decisions. But to understand how bees’ memories differ from ours, let’s first talk about ice cream.
The other week, I visited a new ice cream shop and the sight of two flavours made my belly rumble: pistachio and chocolate brownie. I’ve had both, but never side by side. It was a tough decision. To make this choice I had to access separate memories of the two flavours. Did I recall how rich the brownies had been? Or did I remember just that I liked pistachio more than the lemon flavour I had on that spring day earlier this year?
