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A comment on Dogs can remember names of toys years after not seeing them, study shows. Parent comment

Re:Dogs can remember names of toys years after not seeing th... by accrual on Saturday September 07, 2024 @06:16PM (#41476799)
I agree, I think there is a lot of intelligence around us, perhaps even in ways we don't fully see or imagine. One of the largest organisms on Earth is a mycelium network in Oregon, it's nearly 4 square miles in size.

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/strange-but-true-...

Is it possible this mass of mycelium has some form of intelligence that is difficult for humans to measure? Maybe it "knows" things we can barely conceptualize. What about trees that stand in place for hundreds, or even thousands of years?

https://www.treehugger.com/the-worlds-oldest-living-trees-48...

Perhaps the trees experience time differently due to their slow growth, and they too have "witnessed" many different events in their environment over time, encapsulating them in the rings and structures within themselves.

We could write this off as non-sense as trees have no nervous system, but maybe a lack of such a system doesn't necessarily preclude some type of intelligence we just don't consider "intelligent".

[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:Dogs can remember names of toys years after not seeing th... by sethammons on Sunday September 08, 2024 @06:30AM (#41479526)
I think you will enjoy the documentary The Hidden Life of Trees. It talks about trees and social networks of mycelium where trees share nutrients and information on threats (ant species X attacking, start chemical defenses) and mother trees prioritize their offspring over other neighbors when sharing nutrients.

There are whole worlds to be discovered yet here on our little blue dot of a planet

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Re:Dogs can remember names of toys years after not seeing th... by BoingBoomTschak on Sunday September 08, 2024 @04:13PM (#41482828)
>Is it possible this mass of mycelium has some form of intelligence that is difficult for humans to measure? Maybe it "knows" things we can barely conceptualize.

That's actually the plot of a Garrett P.I. novel.

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