Meh, as far as documentaries go it was too anthromoporphized for my taste. You think Nala wouldn't have had a few litters in that timeframe? I think not.
Fungi are fascinating. I read Merlin Sheldrake's book "Entangled Life" a couple of years ago, exactly on this subject, great stuff. There's also an IMAX movie documentary recently come out, presented by Merlin Sheldrake (who may have the best scientist name ever) and narrated by Björk. Not sure when I'll have a chance to see it, but the chance comes up I will grab it! 🍄
Have you heard the theory that this is why taking psilocybin makes you feel a sense of connection with nature?
I think I read it in Michael Pollan’s “How to change your mind” but I could be wrong.
Basically the mushies are the internet connecting the forest like you say, and everything really is connected in a way we don’t understand. Then when you take the shroom you are suddenly able to feel it, or even see it.
I haven't. My skepticism hackles go up pretty fast whenever I hear about magic mushrooms (besides getting very high and seeing things, which may have a great deal of use). Having said that (huge caveat), there are all sorts of things we don't understand about how nature works, so I concede that even far-fetched ideas like this are possible.
A longer form of the argument if I remember correctly: there are things we cannot see or hear, but we know for a fact they are there certain frequencies of light and sound that animals consume but we need devices for, for example.
So what if the plant internet, and other things we can’t normally perceive are made perceptible by shrooms? iOW the trips are not hallucination, but broadening perception?
I don’t know if I believe it, but it is fun to imagine.
And if there is one person on Substack that I would want to delve deeper, it is… you, my friend!
I'd like to hear more about the mechanism. How would the shrooms help us see things we can't normally see (that aren't already inside our brains)? I'm interested to hear ideas about how this could work, and you're right- this sort of thought experiment is fun!
It does seem fanciful, but not impossible. There are things we are capable of perceiving but not capable of processing. We could all look out at a complex scene - imagine standing on stage and seeing a crowd of 100,000 people - we are capable of seeing everything in our visual field, it may be in our brains, but we just can’t process it all.
I recently heard speculation that people with autism and ADHD process more, or rather are less able to narrow their focus, which is why they seem so distracted or have sensory processing problems.
What if psychedelic Substances just help us process things that we are trained to ignore?
Can’t possibly apply to everything. Pretty sure that time in Amsterdam my mate didn’t REALLY transform into an elephant. But maybe some of the more subtle feelings of connection to the world and oneness are based on something real?
Ha! What if your friend really did briefly change into an elephant?
I don't disagree that the feeling of connection might have more to it than "just a feeling." I've learned that our gut and brain sort of work together in tandem in ways we didn't previously anticipate. I'm just wondering what the mechanism would be to provide the connectivity.
When light isn't visible to us, it's there, but the wavelength is outside of what we could see. Could some kind of connection be outside of our normal realm of perception? Certainly, but I want more detail on how it might work.
You ever write about ideas like this? Could be a fun thing to explore - just the how, not the if part.
I think about it, and have a separate Substack for such frivolous topics that exists only in my imagination. In reality I’m trying to just focus on getting a startup/tech publication up off the ground!
This stuff is so cool! I can only think of one way the analogy wouldn’t work and that is that mycorrhizal networks are less present in urban areas. This is usually due to fertilizers and soil amendments disrupting fungal growth. Possibly the abundance of non-native plants, too, although that’s just a guess.
The fungal network can even even cut a plant off if it’s been damaged, much like your ISP might if your system is infected with a virus.
I might add: I don't think there is anything equivalent to the undersea cables we have, nor to satellites in space. So, it's a flawed analogy, but (hopefully) a very useful one nevertheless!
I was a mycorrhizal fun guy, once. It was that one weekend in college. I'll speak (you'll be thrilled to discover) no more about it. Your daily output of all things amazing is pretty astounding, Andrew!
I no longer want to hear weekly "newsletter"-writers whining, "I don't know what to write about!" If I wore one, my hat would be off to you!
I saw something like that in the documentary Avatar.
Does this play a role in the film? I've never seen it.
Yes!
Do I also need to see Lion King?
Meh, as far as documentaries go it was too anthromoporphized for my taste. You think Nala wouldn't have had a few litters in that timeframe? I think not.
I don't know what a Nala is, but I will continue along that path for now.
Fungi are fascinating. I read Merlin Sheldrake's book "Entangled Life" a couple of years ago, exactly on this subject, great stuff. There's also an IMAX movie documentary recently come out, presented by Merlin Sheldrake (who may have the best scientist name ever) and narrated by Björk. Not sure when I'll have a chance to see it, but the chance comes up I will grab it! 🍄
https://youtu.be/YCf7YywIBZ8?si=T5oxws5W3stZVxij
Nice! Let me know if you end up watching that doc for sure.
Have you heard the theory that this is why taking psilocybin makes you feel a sense of connection with nature?
I think I read it in Michael Pollan’s “How to change your mind” but I could be wrong.
Basically the mushies are the internet connecting the forest like you say, and everything really is connected in a way we don’t understand. Then when you take the shroom you are suddenly able to feel it, or even see it.
Have you heard this before?
I haven't. My skepticism hackles go up pretty fast whenever I hear about magic mushrooms (besides getting very high and seeing things, which may have a great deal of use). Having said that (huge caveat), there are all sorts of things we don't understand about how nature works, so I concede that even far-fetched ideas like this are possible.
A longer form of the argument if I remember correctly: there are things we cannot see or hear, but we know for a fact they are there certain frequencies of light and sound that animals consume but we need devices for, for example.
So what if the plant internet, and other things we can’t normally perceive are made perceptible by shrooms? iOW the trips are not hallucination, but broadening perception?
I don’t know if I believe it, but it is fun to imagine.
And if there is one person on Substack that I would want to delve deeper, it is… you, my friend!
Thanks, Chris!
I'd like to hear more about the mechanism. How would the shrooms help us see things we can't normally see (that aren't already inside our brains)? I'm interested to hear ideas about how this could work, and you're right- this sort of thought experiment is fun!
It does seem fanciful, but not impossible. There are things we are capable of perceiving but not capable of processing. We could all look out at a complex scene - imagine standing on stage and seeing a crowd of 100,000 people - we are capable of seeing everything in our visual field, it may be in our brains, but we just can’t process it all.
I recently heard speculation that people with autism and ADHD process more, or rather are less able to narrow their focus, which is why they seem so distracted or have sensory processing problems.
What if psychedelic Substances just help us process things that we are trained to ignore?
Can’t possibly apply to everything. Pretty sure that time in Amsterdam my mate didn’t REALLY transform into an elephant. But maybe some of the more subtle feelings of connection to the world and oneness are based on something real?
Ha! What if your friend really did briefly change into an elephant?
I don't disagree that the feeling of connection might have more to it than "just a feeling." I've learned that our gut and brain sort of work together in tandem in ways we didn't previously anticipate. I'm just wondering what the mechanism would be to provide the connectivity.
When light isn't visible to us, it's there, but the wavelength is outside of what we could see. Could some kind of connection be outside of our normal realm of perception? Certainly, but I want more detail on how it might work.
You ever write about ideas like this? Could be a fun thing to explore - just the how, not the if part.
I think about it, and have a separate Substack for such frivolous topics that exists only in my imagination. In reality I’m trying to just focus on getting a startup/tech publication up off the ground!
This stuff is so cool! I can only think of one way the analogy wouldn’t work and that is that mycorrhizal networks are less present in urban areas. This is usually due to fertilizers and soil amendments disrupting fungal growth. Possibly the abundance of non-native plants, too, although that’s just a guess.
The fungal network can even even cut a plant off if it’s been damaged, much like your ISP might if your system is infected with a virus.
Plants and fungi and so fascinating ❤️
I might add: I don't think there is anything equivalent to the undersea cables we have, nor to satellites in space. So, it's a flawed analogy, but (hopefully) a very useful one nevertheless!
I was a mycorrhizal fun guy, once. It was that one weekend in college. I'll speak (you'll be thrilled to discover) no more about it. Your daily output of all things amazing is pretty astounding, Andrew!
I no longer want to hear weekly "newsletter"-writers whining, "I don't know what to write about!" If I wore one, my hat would be off to you!
Thanks, Brad! There's so much out there to be curious about.
I know all about plant communication, man. I'm a grown-up after all. I saw that episode of Magic School Bus!
You're thinking of magic mushrooms.
Now Miss Frizzle's line suddenly makes a lot of sense: "“As I always say, for every trip, there’s a road map.”
You're thinking of Mrs. Frisby.