Sunday 12 December 2010

Fermentation Highlights: Squirrels love sharing

A few months ago, I was introduced to a bohemian/creative/stimulating Journal called Fermentations. Earlier today after a most hearty lunch from the dear darling wife, I got reading one of the back copies. Much like good wine/a refined palate takes time to acquire so too this Journal requires a bit of getting used to but, aaaah... the delights that come as a result! The opening essay in the third issue, written by the brilliant Brad Belschner has so much good stuff that over the next few weeks I will put down some quotes here. Take this for starters:

Survival of the fittest gets too much airtime, Just look outside, or go on a hike. Most creatures in nature live not by out-competing the others, but by cooperating with them. By and large symbiosis is the rule in nature, not competition. 
[...]
Consider the squirrels and nuts. Trees aren't in competition with squirrels over their nutes; rather, they make their nuts especially for the squirrels. Squirrels hide nuts and bury them, which propagates the trees far and wide. That means more nuts for the squirrels, which means more squirrels, which means more trees, and so on. The giving multiplies. Squirrels depend on trees, and trees depend on squirrels.

Neat eh?

No comments:

Post a Comment