Entangled Life
Summary
Crawling along the ground in a dense forest is where Sheldrake does his research. He is looking for fungus.
No, not the foot kind - the kind that has shaped our world in more ways than people understand. The first plants on dry land wouldn’t exist without fungus. Animals wouldn’t exist without plants. So it’s not an unreasonable commentary for us to think we owe our existence, at least in part, to fungus.
When people think about fungus, they usually think about mushrooms. But mushrooms are just the fruit of fungus, like a flower is to a plant. Fungi grow under our feet in quantities that are unimaginable - there are six to ten times more species of fungi than plants. All of these wildly unique, yet still quite similar, fungi are doing things like: transferring genes between plants, passing nutrients to young saplings until they grow large enough to survive on their own, and even adorning the top of our expensive truffle fries at our local burger spot.
Sheldrake does a great job of exploring all the varying types of fungi and how they are impacting our world. He explores the origins of plant life, the magic mushrooms consumed for enjoyment, and the “wood wide web” that helps complex ecosystems communicate and react to changes in the environment.
Key Takeaways
- Fungi are incredibly important to our ecosystems and way of life as humans. Without them, we wouldn’t survive and wouldn’t exist.
- Many fungi live within one root system of a plant, and a single fungi can live within the root systems of many plants.
- More than 90% of all plant species depend on mycorrhizal fungi to survive. This is the same type of relationship that evolved to support algae making it out of the ocean and onto land.
- Fungi help transfer resources between organisms and even within a single organisms. Resource transfer happens “downhill” in the same way that heat transfers to colder areas. This is critically important for plants that aren’t efficient at consuming the resources necessary for their survival on their own. In fact, some plant species have completely lost the ability to perform photosynthesis because they get all their resources from fungal networks.
Favorite Quotes
Symbiosis is a ubiquitous feature of life.
- Page 17
A mycelial network is a map of a fungus’s recent history and is a helpful reminder that all life-forms are in fact processes not things.
- Page 53
Personal Thoughts
How this book changed my perspective
I had no idea how critical fungi are to our ecosystems prior to reading this book. The fact that over 90 percent of plant species depend upon fungi to survive is astounding. I love having a better appreciation for such an integral part of our world . There was a component of the book where Sheldrake mentioned the possibility that fungi could exchange DNA with each other and exchange DNA between the plants they are connected to. He did mention this isn’t totally understood or agreed upon yet by experts, but that would be quite an amazing learning if it was the case. Horizontal gene transfer has been observed in some plants and is a frequent occurrence amongst bacteria (in fact, it’s a primary contributor for antibiotic resistance). There is likely something interesting to learn from fungi and the mechanisms through which they facilitate HGT due to the breakthrough that would be for understanding HGT events in humans.
Sheldrake also mentioned this idea that the network for mycelium is literally a map of their past. Because they growth through extension at the tips of their trail, the cells that exist throughout the trail are older and older as the trail is closer to the center. These cells then die or are cut back when growth in a new direction is necessary. This isn’t unlike humans in many ways. We are definitely “things”, but we are also “processes” that are constantly evolving and changing. Our cells die and new ones take their place. Our opinions and perspectives shift and evolve. They way we exist today is just a single momentary capture of who we are in this moment – tomorrow and beyond we will be different. Different molecules, different perspectives, different things.
Practical applications
The concept of horizontal gene transfer (HGT) in fungi, as described by Sheldrake, offers a fascinating parallel to how humans acquire new abilities through technology. Just as fungi can transfer genes between organisms, leading to new traits and abilities, we humans have extended our capabilities through technological advancements. The smartphone revolution, for instance, has given us instant access to a world of information, effectively augmenting our memory and problem-solving skills. More recently, the emergence of personal AI agents through Large Language Models (LLMs) is poised to dramatically reshape how we interact with information and solve complex problems. These technological leaps can be seen as a form of “cognitive HGT,” rapidly spreading through society and fundamentally altering our collective capabilities.
Sheldrake’s description of how fungi facilitate gene transfer between organisms provides an intriguing lens through which to view the spread of new technologies and information in our society. The “infectious” nature of desirable traits in HGT events mirrors how new skills and information propagate through human networks. Back to the example of how rapidly social media platforms or new smartphone features spread – they’re adopted quickly because they offer desirable new capabilities, much like how beneficial genes might spread through a fungal network. This perspective offers valuable insights into how innovations diffuse through society and why some technologies or ideas become ubiquitous while others fade away. As a technologist and product person, understanding these mechanisms could be crucial for predicting and shaping the impact of future products and technologies.
Lastly, the book’s exploration of mycelial networks as a “map of a fungus’s recent history” resonates deeply with the idea that we, as humans, are not just static entities but ongoing processes. Like the ever-changing mycelial networks, we are constantly evolving – physically, mentally, and socially. Our opinions shift, our bodies renew cells, and our knowledge expands. This perspective challenges us to think of personal growth and societal change not as discrete events, but as continuous processes of adaptation and evolution. How might this view influence our approach to education (particularly in adulthood), where instead of focusing on fixed outcomes, we could emphasize adaptability and continuous learning? Or in terms of social policies, how could we design systems that are more responsive to the ever-changing nature of human needs and societal challenges?
Questions for further exploration
- How can our understanding of HGT in fungi inform our strategies for introducing and managing the adoption of new technologies in society? Could this insight help us predict or mitigate potential negative impacts of rapid technological change?
- What specific societal problems might be addressed by applying principles observed in fungal networks? For instance, could fungal resource-sharing mechanisms inspire new approaches to wealth distribution or sustainable resource management?
- How can the symbiotic relationships observed between fungi and plants inform new models of human collaboration, particularly in addressing global challenges like climate change or food security?
Last updated: 2024-07-27