Bees and the thought of naught

(CNRS) Honeybees can conceive and interpret zero. This has just been demonstrated by a scientist from the Research Centre on Animal Cognition (CNRS / Universit é Toulouse III--Paul Sabatier) and her Australian colleagues, proving for the first time ever that insects are capable of mathematical abstraction. As zero, designating nothingness, neutrality, or absence, is a relatively recent concept for humans, these findings -- published in Science (June 8, 2018) -- raise questions about its symbolic significance in the history of mathematics.
Source: EurekAlert! - Social and Behavioral Science - Category: International Medicine & Public Health Source Type: news