Comments on: If the Interstate System Were Designed by a Slime Mold

By: Al Rodbell

Al Rodbell — Mon, 18 Jun 2012 16:21:03 +0000

Slime molds were used as an illustration of self sacrifice in Mark Pagal’s book, “Wired for Culture.” The individual single cell creatures, contingent on food availability, will form into an organism, so that the independent amoebas that make up the mold become stalks for fruiting bodies. Remember, they don’t even have a rudimentary nervous system.

The first part of the book is on the profound effect of what we call culture to humanity, too weak a term for the impulse that will allow us to transform from sacrifice or killing our conspecifics in the blink of an eye. The action of slime molds gives a hint of how deeply this is entrenched into all human life.

These efficient pathways they design do not benefit the amoeba but the species, the community, the culture. Perhaps it is not that different to what makes internecine warfare, political or lethal, so ubiquitous among the species that design actual interstate highways.

By: Lauren

Lauren — Mon, 21 May 2012 13:49:31 +0000

Is the amount of rolled oats at each large city representative of population density? Would that change the results very much?

By: Robert S.

Robert S. — Wed, 16 May 2012 22:04:07 +0000

A co-worker suggested that if the lab experiments could include appropriate topographical limitations, that the slime mold could potentially account for other deviations from logic including state-level and local-level government corruption at the time of man-path construction.

Essentially, once you’ve removed the effects of mountains and waterways, deviations from the slime mold path could have anthropological value.

By: John Jay

John Jay — Wed, 16 May 2012 20:19:54 +0000

I for one welcome our new slime mold overlords.

By: George B

George B — Wed, 16 May 2012 08:49:32 +0000

My guess is that the map would even more closely resemble the interstate / rail infrastructure if it grew on a map with topological relief. It would probably also select routes with mountain passes, for example.

On a flat map the result might more closely resemble a pipeline or fiber optic map though those tend to follow existing rail right of ways.

By: Adrienne Kendrick

Adrienne Kendrick — Wed, 16 May 2012 05:24:59 +0000

The maps look like they were flat. Have the researchers attempted to use a raised feature map to test how the mold deals with differences in elevation? Or a map that had different “climate zones?”

By: elkh1

elkh1 — Wed, 16 May 2012 03:23:51 +0000

“the brainless slime mold is much smarter than we think”
or we’re not much smarter than slime mold.