An Interesting Network?

is this an oxymoron?

The Banyan tree is one of the most intriguing of species in my opinion. There are a number of them distributed around the world that have become tourist destinations. One I remember is the banyan tree in Lahaina, Maui. What does this have to do with today’s tale? Read on as I think it is a good one. Banyan trees are a story in themselves, but today they are merely cool looking.

Don’t Leave Just Yet

Even though there is ‘network in the title, this is NOT A BORING computer talk…read on.

Time Well Spent?

I try to stay reasonably well-informed. Today’s post, after a bit of “rooting” around was perhaps the most interesting story I have put together considering I knew NOTHING about this when I started down the path. Big deal, something I didn’t know much about. What is more striking is I love the forest. There has NEVER been a moment where I pondered the thesis of today’s post despite ample exposure throughout my lifetime. What did I learn from this?

1. I found myself remembering the Arthur C. Clarke quote “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic”. I admit I sometimes wonder what the mechanism inside our heads is to have confidence in things that are quite unlikely or even downright impossible. There must be something in our heads that settles us via some weird structure in our minds to store things as “stuff you believe”, “stuff you accept on faith”, or “stuff you simply don’t consider because it is SETTLED”.

2. A walk in the woods is always something, after completion, that seems to make me feel more settled. There are a lot of wonders to behold but somehow I RARELY find myself thinking "What about that?”. Rather, I just walk through and the surroundings just do the job of settling me.

3. Despite considering myself inquisitive, once I digested the implications of this post, I realized I managed to ignore “the forest for the trees”. This is a great example of me just having some settled feeling in my head and therefore never even raising the question in my mind about how all these amazing groups of trees came to be and how they get along, survive, and thrive. There is no gardener. There is no master plan for the layout of the forest. Do they look out for each other? All of this is so mysterious!

4. Humans have begun to understand the organization of all sorts of things. We often call these things networks and systems. There are networks all around us. We don’t consciously even notice them. What we have done is begin modeling important things to us as networks. Why do we bother? They make things more reliable. They make things cheaper (and possible) to do. While I do not think it would be interesting to most, the underlying principles at play, when we send an email to someone else, are elegant, durable, scalable, and downright transformational. All of this results from intentional design. Nature is built upon CONSTANT replication. That is the inspiration for this silly thing we call email. It is pretty easy to explain among computer scientists. To a first-timer, it just seems like magic. I imagine when we finally unlock how our brains pass messages, remember the important stuff, and reorganize our thoughts, we are in for some big network surprises and insights. My sense is this grand mystery, when finally understood will turn out to be simple, elegant, durable, and scalable. What does it all mean? This grand mystery will turn out to be, once we discern its patterns, a eureka moment. It will be accompanied by lots of folks in the field considering “Why didn’t I think of that?”. It will also be readily copied and applied elsewhere and the pattern will lend itself to mathematics capturing its form. From there, the frontier of understanding how our brains work will become the recurring biological pattern that drives us to new frontiers.

Roots

The root of today’s story emerges from spending time with one of my very best friends named Jim. We know each other for more than a quarter century and for so many reasons, time spent with Jim is always a joy. A while back we went on a long walk and managed to get lost. Our “planned” 60-minute walk sprawled to closer to 2:45. Since we never planned to get lost, we didn’t bring much water. We survived with only a humorous memory. What never happens when we get together is running out of stuff to talk about. Jim is extremely well-read and just a blast to have a two-way conversation with. Jim shared an almost ridiculous story about trees and I could not resist. He followed up later with the details of the tale. The next step for me was how to get there as a topic. Today my goal is to tell a story that is interesting AND is about networks. We will not be talking about setting up your WiFi network in your abode as I promised earlier.

Sputnik

Way back in February of 1958, President Eisenhower was spooked into action. The Soviet Union launched the first artificial satellite for the planet Earth called Sputnik late in 1957. The President, like many, was surprised and perhaps alarmed at the advanced step into space. For the record, Sputnik was the first ARTIFICIAL satellite for Earth. It had been predated a long time before by the natural satellite we call the Moon. I’ve linked to a long video all about Sputnik for those who are interested.

What was President Eisenhower’s response to Sputnik? As is common in government, the answer to something like Sputnik was to organize our effort in yet a new acronym organization. The Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) was born. This would be a place to organize all sorts of efforts which later came to be known as “moonshots”. To guarantee steady funding, the name of the agency changed to DARPA with the D short for Defense. For some of you, the name DARPA might be familiar. It is often difficult to describe with clarity what certain agencies do in the Federal Government. Last year, thanks to a friend in my creative writing group, I read the book “The Fifth Risk”. It was a story of an ill-prepared transition to run the government. One of my favorite takeaways from the book was the appointment of Rick Perry, the former governor of Texas to run the Department of Energy by former President Trump. I highly recommend the book as a cautionary tale. As always, Michael Lewis is a masterful and entertaining storyteller. The part of the story that ventured to the absurd was the following:

• Secretary Perry, as a former Texas governor, had some apparent experience with Energy as “an oil man” — CHECK

• The Department of Energy unfortunately is not focused on oil derricks. Rather its primary function is the management of the fuel and warheads of the United State’s nuclear deterrent — UNCHECK

• Secretary Perry lacked neither the understanding, experience nor noticed that the job entailed such functions — UNCHECK

• President Trump largely seemed to appoint Mr. Perry because he became familiar with him during primary season — CHECK

• When the mismatch between the demand of the job and the qualifications of the staff became clear, the best answer was to pretend it does not matter — UNCHECK

• Rick Perry is often remembered for this debate performance in the primaries leading up to 2012. I am relieved he did not seem to want to close the Department of Energy :) at least — CHECK

Back to DARPA

DARPA is likely the most important government agency that many people have never heard of. The playlist of the incredible changes in our everyday lives that DARPA birthed is a who’s who of remarkable things. How’s this for starters? I wonder if people understand a government agency with about 220 employees has over the years been at the birth of (1) Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine (2) weather satellites (3) GPS (4) drones (5) stealth technology (6) voice interfaces (7) personal computers and (8) the internet. Talk about an impressive record of insight and genuine life transformation on the planet. Maybe we can trust the government to do some things?

Yes, the list is accurate. Before there was the internet, there was the ARPANET. While it has grown by leaps and bounds, our understanding of how to connect things is all about networks. In a very early job, I would access information on a specialized terminal connected to ARPANET. Little did I know I would be posting a newsletter built on the same fundamental and forward-thinking network. In an early job experience in the idyllic location of San Luis Obispo County in California, I worked at a place with an extensive and ahead-of-its-time computer network. The network provider was a company named Banyan-VINES. They were inspired by the unique look and interconnectedness of the banyan tree species. Finally, I have closed the loop to that beautiful tree I included at the top! The greatest thing about networks like the one that runs your WiFi and a beautiful tree like a banyan is that part of it can be damaged and it keeps on ticking. Each in this way is an elegant solution. Time for a pun. One is “rooted” in nature and the other is inspired by it.

The Ents Have It

I have a strong attraction to J. R. R. Tolkien and his amazing books The Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Some, perhaps, only were exposed through the movies of the same names. The fantasy world of Middle Earth constructed by Tolkien was remarkable in its detail and introduced all sorts of new ways to view life and cooperation. One of the more creative elements was the Ents. They are trees that work together and come alive. Who would have imagined that Tolkien foretold a reality beyond most imagination? The scientific method provides constant refinements in how we see and understand our world. The creativity of Tolkien and its transformation into the film is nicely shown in the film snippet from The Two Towers.

Can Trees Talk?

So who gets the “best” spot in the forest? Let’s call the mightiest / largest / oldest tree the mother tree. The definition is important and I assure you amazing! When you walk through a forest, if the season and conditions are right, it is a great place to forage for mushrooms. Since some of my favored readers live in VERY LARGE CITIES, you might have to scour for some photos to realize that in a forest, adjacent trees are not ringed by bricks and decorative fences :)

So what do mushrooms have to do with networks? My friends who do not care for mushrooms tend to refer to them as fungi. Doesn’t sound particularly appetizing. The power of words might change your perspective, especially if you enjoy mushrooms. Those mushrooms we see when we traverse the forest are the “fruit” of the fungus, while the majority of the fungal organism lives in the soil interwoven with tree roots as a vast network of mycelium. If you have ever removed a tree stump, you often get to witness a bit of a whitish mesh surrounding tree roots. That whitish mesh is the plant part of the mushroom fruit. It turns out that trees and mushrooms have figured out how to help each other, share resources, and COMMUNICATE!!!

For those who are open-minded and seek wisdom in all venues, the stories and truths explained by native cultures would not be surprised the trees are all connected. It is the arrogance of people which prevents an open-minded embrace of how the world works.

The mycelium wound around and into the roots composes what’s called a “mycorrhizal network,” which connects individual plants to transfer water, nitrogen, carbon, and other minerals. German forester Peter Wohlleben dubbed this network the “woodwide web,” as it is through the mycelium that trees “communicate.”¹To me, the woodwide web sounds a bit like how a Bostonian might pronounce the worldwide web.

I strongly recommend the footnote as the whole article is fascinating. Here is another excerpt to whet your whistle.

In healthy forests, each tree is connected to others via this network, enabling trees to share water and nutrients. For saplings growing in particularly shady areas, there is not enough sunlight reaching their leaves to perform adequate photosynthesis. For survival, the sapling RELIES ON NUTRIENTS AND SUGAR from older, taller trees sent through the mycorrhizal network. A study on Douglas-fir trees at the England’s University of Reading indicates that trees recognize the root tips of their relatives and favor them when sending carbon and nutrients through the fungal network.[1]

Ecologist Suzanne Simard hypothesizes that the fungus linking the trees is motivated by the need to secure its source of carbon. The mycorrhizal network plays a distribution role to keep the mycelium-connected trees alive and healthy and the fungi’s supply of carbon consistent.[2] As a sort of payment for their services, the mycorrhizal network retains about 30% of the sugar that the connected trees generate through photosynthesis. The sugar fuels the fungi, which in turn collect phosphorus and other mineral nutrients into the mycelium, which are then transferred to and used by the trees.[1]

While the above is pretty technical it elevates my spirit when I simplify this. The idea is that trees share amongst themselves to ensure they all can thrive. After hearing this and exploring it some more from a technical standpoint, it has CHANGED HOW I THINK when I enter the forest. A little bit of new and unexpected knowledge can change how you feel about life in all of its wonders.

For those of you that (1) live amongst the trees or (2) travel occasionally to experience the tranquility nature can provide, I hope this can add to your enjoyment, and respect and enrich what you take away from your next walk in the woods.

Was This Too Dense?

I realize this was a pretty tricky topic. Maybe too dense, like a mature forest:) If your bias has been to skip along, and in the spirit of a picture is worth a thousand words, here is a very good video that explains the majesty of what is now my favorite network.

The Poll & Music

I still enjoy picking a song for each post. I hope that some of you enjoy taking the time to decompress with a song or two. Tonight was a song from my youth.

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A Call To Connect

I enjoy writing these posts but it is great to hear what you think. Here are a couple of ideas to scratch your interest in the post. Pick one or all :)

1. What does visiting the forest do for you?

2. Have you ever dug up a stump and seen the white mesh around the roots?

3. What songs do you enjoy or think of when you are in the forest?

4. How do you feel about these nature deep dives? Bored with it? Do more of these? If this post put you in the mood for more tree talk, I did a series of posts long ago about Methuselah. The post below was part two and stands alone and is all about some amazing trees and their longevity if we don’t cut them down and burn them.

   Methuselah - The Tree

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What’s Next

The streak of surprise for the next post continues. Hope to see you next week.

1. https://www.nationalforests.org/blog/underground-mycorrhizal-network