"...When you run so fast to get somewhere,
you miss half the fun of getting there..."
(David L. Weatherford - "Slow Dance")

Sunday 17 April 2022

About the miracle of life

A few years ago I showed students an experiment in which mushrooms find their optimal path to their food source. The researchers were so excited by the discovery that they said it might even be a form of intelligence they never suspected. The claim was terribly disappointing for the human species. We would thus learn that even mushrooms have descended to the level of pseudo-intelligence of politicians and cranks. But a very interesting experiment shows us once again that without optimisation, life does not exist, and the key is actually identifying the food source. Just like in politics: you just have to sniff where you to suck. And for that you don't even need a shred of intelligence.

Fungal Intelligence: Lead the way to improved technological systems