Chapter 1
The cosmic breath of the ancients
Chapter 2
The wood wide web
Chapter 3
Swarm intelligence and the mind of the many
Chapter 4
Slime mold and the brainless navigator
Chapter 5
The cosmic web and the ultimate network
YOUR GOAL
Master of Aetheric intelligence and the cosmic mind of nature
Ch 4 · Slime mold and the brainless navigator
007skaty Slime Mold Navigation
No brain at all but I'm tracing the tracks, mapping out Tokyo one oat at a time
007skaty Living organisms perform precise calculations to balance their nutritional intake
007skaty Slime molds permanently widen local tubes upon encountering food, mapping nutrient locations as physical memory without using a
007skaty Glowing yellow slime mold winds through a watercolor maze, leaving a translucent trail.
BETA
007skaty Grow the clever creep through the maze to discover how natural networks solve problems.
Fun Fact
Brainless smarts: Slime molds can escape traps and navigate towards food even after being chopped into multiple pieces.
Glossary
physarum polycephalum (noun)
A yellow, single-celled slime mold that lacks a nervous system but exhibits complex, problem-solving behaviors. In 2012, Christopher Reid demonstrated how this eukaryote uses extracellular trails to solve complex navigational traps.
A yellow, single-celled slime mold that lacks a nervous system but exhibits complex, problem-solving behaviors. In 2012, Christopher Reid demonstrated how this eukaryote uses extracellular trails to solve complex navigational traps.
Quiz
To which biological kingdom or group do slime molds belong, distinguishing them from true fungi?
Quiz
What is the scientific name of the bright yellow, single-celled slime mold used in cognitive experiments?
Quiz
In what year did Max Planck Institute physicists discover that tube diameter changes act as slime mold memory?
Quiz
In what year did researchers publish the famous experiment where slime mold recreated the Tokyo transit network?
Quiz
Researchers from which university conducted the 2010 study showing slime molds balance protein and carbs?
Quiz
What unique cellular feature allows a giant slime mold to act as a single, coordinated organism?
Quiz
In which prestigious scientific journal was the 2000 study on slime mold maze-solving published?