Complete the comparison of systems.
The bee dance encodes direction by the ______ of the straight run and distance by its ______. It possesses ______, since it refers to a place the dancer is not at, but lacks ______, so nothing outside its two dimensions can be expressed.
Word bank: angle · duration · displacement · productivity · discreteness · arbitrariness
Hints
- The first two are the two quantities von Frisch identified.
- The last blank names the feature that failed in the vertical-source experiment.
Show the answer
The bee dance encodes direction by the angle of the straight run and distance by its duration. It possesses displacement, since it refers to a place the dancer is not at, but lacks productivity, so nothing outside its two dimensions can be expressed.
The four blanks are the whole analysis: a system with exactly two channels, one impressive feature and one absolute limit. Being able to state it that precisely is what the design features are for.
Practise Animal Communication
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