The Built World Web

The Mushroom We See

You see them all the time. They look a little funky, cute, and sometimes even weird. Mainly, you may see them while walking on a little hiking trail, you may see them on keychains or as whimsical decoration, Mario and Luigi consume them to get bigger after taking damage during a mission in Super Mario Bros. What is it? “Itza-mi, fungi.” Better known as mushrooms.

One of the most popular mushrooms, especially here in the States, is the portobello mushroom. Pennsylvania is actually the leading mushroom-producing state in the country, producing more mushrooms than any other state. But the family of fungi expands far and beyond the mushrooms we commonly see in grocery stores. It is so vast that we do not even have every species measured, named, or quantified. Scientists continue to identify new fungal species every year, and estimates suggest that millions are still trying to be described 

Some we can see. Some we cannot.

Beneath the Fruiting Body

That little dome-shaped item we see coming from the ground is called the fruiting body of the fungus. But for many species, that is not where it ends. Below it is a hidden network of microscopic threads. These threads that you may barely even notice underground are called hyphae, and they collectively form what is called mycelium which, interestingly enough, can also be grown into certain building materials. Think of the visible mushroom we see as an apple, the legit fruit, while the mycelium is closer to the rest of the apple tree. We recognize the apple as the fruit and the tree as the larger organism that produced it. We do not always recognize that same separation between the fruiting mushroom and its hidden “tree" underground mycelium. Hell, the honey fungus, Armillaria ostoyae, in Oregon is considered one of the largest known living organisms on Earth it covers roughly 2,385 acres, or about 3.7 square miles, and it's old as hell,  estimates suggest it may be thousands of years old. Yet we cannot even see all of it at first glance. Most of the organism remains hidden beneath the forest floor.

The Wood Wide Web

Separate from this enormous fungus are mycorrhizal networks, sometimes popularly referred to as the “Wood Wide Web.” These networks form when certain fungi associate with plant roots, creating underground connections through which nutrients chemical signals  and tactical defensive maneuvers can move.  It reminds me of our infrastructure within society.

The Infrastructure We Do Not See

So often, we overlook the wonders it takes just to keep the air conditioning going, the plumbing working, and the electricity flowing. It is something that we really do not “see” day to day, but we constantly feel its effects. Fungal networks also have to solve design problems similar to civic planning problems such as balancing the energy cost of creating new branches against the need to cover more territory and carry resources across long distances. I mean, 2,385 acres is massive. People train for 5Ks because traveling 3.1 miles is a feat. This single fungal organism spreads across an area larger than that distance almost entirely outside our immediate view. The mycelium is part of the logistics that keeps the mushroom operation going.

The Building as a Fruiting Body

The comparison I make is that the houses, buildings, and structures we see are the “fruiting bodies” of an intelligent logistical system hidden beneath society that keeps everything flowing. Though even with this logistical system underground, it is not just “one” person who creates it. The architect may design a beautiful building, but it is the culmination of hundreds, sometimes thousands, of different hands that actually create it: masons, ironworkers, plumbers, electricians, carpenters, equipment operators, laborers, inspectors, managers, and so on. As nature also does, the mushroom seems to appear as a beautiful fruiting body, but beneath it are thousands of little hyphae connecting and performing different functions throughout the mycelial network. No single thread creates the mushroom alone

So, similar to the interconnected Wood Wide Web of fungi and plant roots, construction and infrastructure create a hidden Built-World Web which I would consider it a network of specialized people, materials, systems, and knowledge working together to produce the structures we eventually see, experience and enjoy.

I mean, do you know the person who built the building you are in?

Or the web of persons?