How People Are Like Mushrooms

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Abstract

here may be some truth to that, but we’re even more like mushrooms than that quip suggests.Our human brains are fantastic. In them we grow astronomical numbers of ideas (in the broadest sense) during our lives, from the most mundane — what’s a good breakfast? — to the most profound — what is my purpose in life? But, like the mycelium of a mushroom colony, most of our ideas remain out of sight, hidden inside our skulls.And like the fruiting bodies of mushrooms, small glimpses of our ideas surface in our behavior, including our speech and writing, often in surprising ways. Our external appearance — how we dress, decorate our bodies, a

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nd style our hair — is, of course, an expression of some of the ideas in our brains. But many more of our ideas remain hidden unless we choose to communicate them. And it turns out that, just like mushrooms, while many of us can offer tasty, nourishing ideas, others present poisonous ones.For me, much of the beauty in life is the opportunity to explore the ideas of other people and enjoy the nourishing ones. And I’m fascinated and repelled by the poisonous ones. That’s why the people I know are so precious. Who knows what beautiful ideas may still remain to be discovered in them? And how much I will miss them when they are gone!</article></body>

How People Are Like Mushrooms

Many of us know the complaint of the lowly member of an organization: “I must be a mushroom. They keep me in the dark and just feed me bullshit.” Actually there may be some truth to that, but we’re even more like mushrooms than that quip suggests.

Our human brains are fantastic. In them we grow astronomical numbers of ideas (in the broadest sense) during our lives, from the most mundane — what’s a good breakfast? — to the most profound — what is my purpose in life? But, like the mycelium of a mushroom colony, most of our ideas remain out of sight, hidden inside our skulls.

And like the fruiting bodies of mushrooms, small glimpses of our ideas surface in our behavior, including our speech and writing, often in surprising ways. Our external appearance — how we dress, decorate our bodies, and style our hair — is, of course, an expression of some of the ideas in our brains. But many more of our ideas remain hidden unless we choose to communicate them. And it turns out that, just like mushrooms, while many of us can offer tasty, nourishing ideas, others present poisonous ones.

For me, much of the beauty in life is the opportunity to explore the ideas of other people and enjoy the nourishing ones. And I’m fascinated and repelled by the poisonous ones. That’s why the people I know are so precious. Who knows what beautiful ideas may still remain to be discovered in them? And how much I will miss them when they are gone!