Creativity and beekeeping

General Discussion of Diary Posts and Questions on Beekeeping Matters
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karen
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Creativity and beekeeping

Unread post by karen »

I am developing class curriculum for my local extension serve, for those of you not in USA extension an agency within the U.S. Department of Agriculture focused on research and education. Creative thinking is something I have found to be important in my own apiary so I want to stress it in this class. The class is focused on beekeepers who have 1 year under their belt, coming out of winter with dead or alive hives.

One question is - Do you think I will be getting new beekeepers into trouble by telling them to be creative?

So many beekeeping classes cram the first two years into beginner class and by the time the new beekeeper hits their second season they have forgotten a lot. Intermediate classes are available but they are for beekeepers who have had hives more than 2 years. So we are developing a class that fits between these two.

The class is only 3 weeks long with 6 hours of instruction. Not a lot of time but this really is review on what they should have read/learned in the past year and what they should have had in beginners class. There will be myths and truths, disease, and hive management. Hive management covers a lot of topics, what ever comes up at class I plan to have question and answer time.
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Re: Creativity and beekeeping

Unread post by Allen Dick »

I usually do not recommend creativity for beginners. They usually have enough trouble copying what they are taught and what they are shown by others. In fact, I often think that creativity is merely the inability to follow instructions or due to contrariness.
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karen
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Re: Creativity and beekeeping

Unread post by karen »

I was thinking more a long the lines of ways to lift heavy boxes or avoid lifting, easier ways to feed, better swarm catching devices.
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Re: Creativity and beekeeping

Unread post by Allen Dick »

Well, I think those questions are pretty well addressed in the literature. However beginners may not be well exposed to all the various ideas that have been developed, so some creativity is probably required.

There are caveats however, since feeding can lead to serious problems and there are tried and true methods that do not have downsides which should be taught and followed for various situations .

Swarm catching is also an activity that may have serious ramifications, especially in public areas. Amateurs probably should not be attempting it but are likely to do so, therefore they should be taught fail-safe methods.

Generally speaking, creativity is a word that gives me the willies , and advising creativity is like giving a license to ignore the training
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karen
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Re: Creativity and beekeeping

Unread post by karen »

So probably a topic not to include in this class, though it is a part of beekeeping I really like. I have made a lot of items that make my work easier.

I was tempted but also knew it could cause trouble that is why I put it here. Any one else have an option on it?
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Re: Creativity and beekeeping

Unread post by Allen Dick »

One last thing. Something any beekeeper should always ask, especially in populated areas is, "What is the worst thing that could happen?"

Also, maybe, "Will my insurance cover it?"
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Colino
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Re: Creativity and beekeeping

Unread post by Colino »

Good Morning Karen:
I noticed on another thread you said you should have maybe said "inventive" That brought this video to mind.
Colino
http://youtu.be/xWA49Oy5Skw
Narcissism is easy because it's me or I, Empathy is hard because it's they or them.-Colino
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Re: Creativity and beekeeping

Unread post by Allen Dick »

I agree that "inventive" is a better word, although some people can take even that word as a licence to break some important rules.

Unfortunately, often those who teach beginning beekeeping have more enthusiasm than experience. Some speculate and make up rules and those rules and suppositions get passed on to others and soon become "fact".

What the real rules are, though, is what we are discussing under myths.

I'm feeling like a wet blanket here, but many people "play" with bees and that is about as safe as playing with fire. You can do it, but there is a risk of being burned, or burning down the neighbourhood, and that risk what attracts some folks, whether they know it or not, so we have to be careful what we say and how we say it.
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Countryboy
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Re: Creativity and beekeeping

Unread post by Countryboy »

It seems to me that many beginners have crazy ideas for things which have already been tried by countless other beekeepers throughout history. Those ideas often caused a lot of unnecessary work (and often only makes things worse) but the beginners are full of enthusiasm but too lazy to learn from others mistakes.

I think it is best to learn (and understand) what is inside the box before we start trying to think too far outside the box.

It's great for beginners to have one mentor to follow, but if they try to follow several different mentors who do things differently, they have a difficult time repeating their mentors' successes. They go chasing too many ideas before they have the basics mastered.

Trying to encourage beginners to be creative is like trying to get a crawling baby to run sprints. First learn to crawl...then to walk...and then to run.

Unto everything there is a season...creativity included. (But that also means there is a time when everything is out of season also.)
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pomicultorul
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Re: Creativity and beekeeping

Unread post by pomicultorul »

karen wrote: One question is - Do you think I will be getting new beekeepers into trouble by telling them to be creative?
Greetings,

Personally, I think that a beginner has or has not a predisposition for creative thinking and when that is the case, the student does not need encouraging but rather some coaching. Doing basic research to educate oneself on how others solve a specific problem around the world, seeking advice from mentors, running small tests before implementing at a large scale concepts or devices it is I think is what a beginner should be encouraged to do. People have unique backgrounds and sets of skills which coupled with advancements in technology, materials and research make for a very promising of gains, innovation-friendly environment and the real danger seems to me would be to discourage the would-be innovators.

I love love bees very much and have respect for tradition but had I been restricted to following my ancestors this great love would have gone unconsumed.

Thank you!
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Re: Creativity and beekeeping

Unread post by AdrianQuineyWI »

Within beekeeping there are some very conservative beekeepers, and some very research-bound beekeepers. Sometimes, for example, book/research based "facts" become held as to be absolute truths with no room for a differing point of view and dissent is shut down.
This can be something that holds beekeeping back. For example, the books say and the research supports, that the "best queens" are the best fed queens - that queens made under the emergency method are the worst. Yet you yourself Allen, and generations of commerical beekeepers used timely walk-away splits in their operations with success.
I can agree that the research shows that queens raised under emergency conditions may not have as fully developed oviaroles or spermatheca as larva grafted at the perfect age and fed in the best provisioned cell starters. What I disagree with is that it matters very much. Commercial beekeepers and historical writers who have used walk-away splits show they work. Perhaps the perfectly developed queen can hold enough genetic material for 7 years, but what does it matter when compared to the walk-away split queen that lasts long enough for most of us?
So why am I belaboring this? Because here in the north, admittedly not as North as you Allen, a brood break is a valuable tool in the war against mites. As a hobbyist/sideliner I have found it to be invaluable. Using Disselkoen splits has been my main method of propagating queens and colonies. I overwinter them in 5 over 5 frame nucs (Michael Palmer style), and then sell them, split them again, or run them for honey in the spring. There are more examples in the previous sentence of conventional wisdom challenged, but this post is getting long.
I believe that it is important as one progresses in beekeeping to keep an open mind, and challenge the conventional wisdom a little.
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Re: Creativity and beekeeping

Unread post by Allen Dick »

Interesting perspectives. I guess what it boils down to is that innovators will innovate and non-innovators won't.

It is very apparent, though, that some innovators have a high success rate and some never get it right.

In the evolution of ideas and historic progress in thought and methods, it is quite clear that copying success is much cheaper, faster and much less risky than innovation.

The question is, though, whether 'creativity' should be advocated.

In my experience, you simply cannot stop some people, myself included, from innovating and thinking outside the box. Looking back, though, I think I should possibly have listened to some who suggested that I could be a little less 'creative'.

Nah. That is simply not my style.

Should we advocate creativity? I still think not. We don't need to. In fact, we need to suggest a little less, but it really won't make much difference.
Allen Dick, RR#1 Swalwell, Alberta, Canada T0M 1Y0
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karen
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Re: Creativity and beekeeping

Unread post by karen »

Thanks for all of you have contributed to my question. I believe inventive is the correct word and it is something I like to be with my work. The first class I will be teaching is going to be disease, pests and problems. The students, I guess you would call the them sophomore beekeepers, will be hobbyist beekeepers. I have experience teaching, college and high school level livestock management and all kinds of veterinary technician lab techniques. Sharing my beekeeping experience is new other than being a speaker at club meetings etc.

I get phone calls from beekeepers on the strangest things that to me seem so simple and if someone had just thought about it they would of come up with their own solution. So I find some inexperienced people are timid sometimes, they can not bring themselves to dare and be a little creative or inventive to solve their problems. But I guess if they are like that with their beekeeping they may be like that with everything in life and why take the chance when you can ask some one.

I will leave the inventive part to the day I teach some advanced classes to beekeepers with more than 2 hives. I can afford to loose a box of bees if my great idea screws up, for them they loose half their apiary. I know I am very inquisitive and creative, I like to constantly learn and try new ideas. Not every one is like that but I feel it does make one better at what they do when they are willing to test some of the boundaries and try something new. Beekeepers have to constantly evolve because what we deal with is constantly evolving around us. So I keep my thinking cap close by.
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