Heather Barnett: What humans can learn from semi-intelligent slime

Prevoditelj: Senzos Osijek Recezent: Ivan Stamenković

I'd like to introduce you to an organism:

Htjela bih vam predstaviti organizam:

a slime mold, Physarum polycephalum.

sluzavu plijesan, Physarum polycephalum.

It's a mold with an identity crisis, because it's not a mold,

To je plijesan s krizom identiteta budući da nije plijesan,

so let's get that straight to start with.

stoga bismo prvo to trebali raščistiti.

It is one of 700 known slime molds

Ona je jedna od 700 poznatih sluzavih plijesni

belonging to the kingdom of the amoeba.

koje spadaju u kraljevstvo ameba.

It is a single-celled organism, a cell,

To je jednostanični organizam, stanica,

that joins together with other cells

koja se spaja s drugim stanicama

to form a mass super-cell

kako bi stvorila veliku super-stanicu

to maximize its resources.

kako bi najučinkovitije iskoristila svoje resurse.

So within a slime mold you might find thousands

Unutar sluzave plijesni možete naći tisuće

or millions of nuclei,

ili milijune jezgara

all sharing a cell wall,

koje dijele stanični zid

all operating as one entity.

i funkcioniraju kao jedan entitet.

In its natural habitat,

U svom prirodnom staništu,

you might find the slime mold foraging in woodlands,

možete ju naći kako traži hranu u šumskim područjima,

eating rotting vegetation,

kako jede trule biljke,

but you might equally find it

ali ju jednako možete naći

in research laboratories,

u istraživačkim laboratorijima,

classrooms, and even artists' studios.

učionicama pa čak i ateljeima.

I first came across the slime mold about five years ago.

Prvi sam se puta susrela s njom prije otprilike pet godina.

A microbiologist friend of mine

Jedan mi je prijatelj mikrobiolog

gave me a petri dish with a little yellow blob in it

dao petrijevu zdjelicu s malenom žutom mrljom

and told me to go home and play with it.

i rekao mi je da se odem kući igrati s njom.

The only instructions I was given,

Jedina uputa koju sam dobila bila je

that it likes it dark and damp

da voli tamu i vlagu

and its favorite food is porridge oats.

i da joj je omiljeno jelo zobena kaša.

I'm an artist who's worked for many years

Ja sam umjetnica koja je radila mnogo godina

with biology, with scientific processes,

s biologijom, znanstvenim procesima,

so living material is not uncommon for me.

tako da mi živi materijal nije stran.

I've worked with plants, bacteria,

Radila sam s biljkama, bakterijama,

cuttlefish, fruit flies.

sipama, vinskim mušicama.

So I was keen to get my new collaborator home

Željela sam što prije odnijeti svog novog suradnika kući

to see what it could do.

da vidim što može.

So I took it home and I watched.

Odnijela sam ga kući i promatrala.

I fed it a varied diet.

Hranila sam ga raznovrsnom hranom.

I observed as it networked.

Proučavala sam kako se umrežava.

It formed a connection between food sources.

Stvaralo je veze između izvora hrane.

I watched it leave a trail behind it,

Gledala sam kako ostavlja trag za sobom,

indicating where it had been.

što je upućivalo na to gdje je bio.

And I noticed that when it was fed up with one petri dish,

Uočila sam da, kad mu dosadi jedna petrijeva zdjelica,

it would escape and find a better home.

pobjegne i nađe bolji dom.

I captured my observations

Snimila sam svoja zapažanja

through time-lapse photography.

koristeći time-lapse fotografiju.

Slime mold grows at about one centimeter an hour,

Sluzava plijesan raste brzinom otprilike jedan centimetar po satu,

so it's not really ideal for live viewing

tako da nije zanimljiva za gledanje uživo

unless there's some form of really extreme meditation,

osim ako se radi o nekoj ekstremnoj meditaciji.

but through the time lapse,

Korištenjem time-lapsea,

I could observe some really interesting behaviors.

mogu promatrati neka prilično zanimljiva ponašanja.

For instance, having fed on a nice pile of oats,

Na primjer, kad se nahrani finom hrpom zobi,

the slime mold goes off to explore new territories

sluzava plijesan ode istražiti nova područja

in different directions simultaneously.

u različitim smjerovima u isto vrijeme.

When it meets itself,

Kad se ponovno sretne, zna da je ondje već bila,

it knows it's already there,

prepozna da je već ondje,

it recognizes it's there,

prepozna da je ondje

and instead retreats back

i vrati se

and grows in other directions.

i raste u drugim smjerovima.

I was quite impressed by this feat,

Bila sam prilično impresionirana tim pothvatom,

at how what was essentially just a bag of cellular slime

kako vreća stanične sluzi

could somehow map its territory,

može mapirati svoj teritorij,

know itself, and move with seeming intention.

poznavati sebe i kretati se s namjerom.

I found countless scientific studies,

Pronašla sam nebrojene znanstvene studije,

research papers, journal articles,

istraživanja, članke

all citing incredible work with this one organism,

koji su se bavili ovim organizmom,

and I'm going to share a few of those with you.

podijelit ću sada s vama nekoliko njih

For example, a team in Hokkaido University in Japan

Na primjer, tim iz sveučilišta Hokkaido u Japanu

filled a maze with slime mold.

ispunilo je labirint sluzavom plijesni.

It joined together and formed a mass cell.

Ona se spojila i stvorila veliku stanicu.

They introduced food at two points,

Stavili su hranu na dva mjesta,

oats of course,

zob, naravno,

and it formed a connection

i ona je stvorila vezu

between the food.

između hrane.

It retracted from empty areas and dead ends.

Povukla se iz praznih dijelova i slijepih završetaka.

There are four possible routes through this maze,

Postoje četiri moguća puta kroz ovaj labirint,

yet time and time again,

ali je opet iznova

the slime mold established the shortest

plijesan išla najkraćim

and the most efficient route.

i najučinkovitijim putem.

Quite clever.

Prilično pametno.

The conclusion from their experiment

Zaključak istraživanja

was that the slime mold had a primitive form of intelligence.

bio je da sluzava plijesan ima primitivan oblik inteligencije.

Another study exposed cold air at regular intervals to the slime mold.

Druga je studija dovodila zrak plijesni u pravilnim intervalima.

It didn't like it. It doesn't like it cold.

Nije joj se svidjelo. Ne voli kad joj je hladno.

It doesn't like it dry.

Ne voli kad je suho.

They did this at repeat intervals,

Ponavljali su to u određenim intervalima,

and each time, the slime mold

i svaki je put sluzava plijesan

slowed down its growth in response.

usporila svoj rast kao odgovor.

However, at the next interval,

S druge strane, kod sljedećeg intervala,

the researchers didn't put the cold air on,

istraživači nisu uključili hladan zrak,

yet the slime mold slowed down in anticipation

a plijesan je ipak usporila rast u iščekivanju

of it happening.

zahladnjenja.

It somehow knew that it was about the time

Nekako je znala da je vrijeme

for the cold air that it didn't like.

za hladan zrak koji joj se nije svidio.

The conclusion from their experiment

Zaključak njihovog pokusa

was that the slime mold was able to learn.

je da sluzava plijesan može učiti.

A third experiment:

Treći pokus:

the slime mold was invited

sluzava je plijesan pozvana da

to explore a territory covered in oats.

istražuje područje prekriveno zobi.

It fans out in a branching pattern.

Lepezasto se širi.

As it goes, each food node it finds,

Kako ide, sa svakim čvorom hrane na koji naiđe

it forms a network, a connection to,

stvori mrežu, vezu

and keeps foraging.

i nastavlja tražiti hranu.

After 26 hours, it established

Nakon 26 sati stvorila je

quite a firm network

prilično čvrstu mrežu

between the different oats.

između različitih zrna zobi.

Now there's nothing remarkable in this

Nema ništa zapanjujuće u tome

until you learn that the center oat that it started from

dok ne saznate da središnje zrno zobi od kojeg je krenula

represents the city of Tokyo,

predstavlja Tokio,

and the surrounding oats are suburban railway stations.

a da okolna zrnja predstavljaju željezničke stanice u predgrađu.

The slime mold had replicated

Sluzava je plijesan replicirala

the Tokyo transport network

prometnu mrežu Tokija.

— (Laughter) —

- (Smijeh) -

a complex system developed over time

Složenu mrežu razvijenu tijekom vremena

by community dwellings, civil engineering, urban planning.

preko javnih nastambi, građevina, urbanog planiranja.

What had taken us well over 100 years

Ono za što je nama trebalo preko 100 godina,

took the slime mold just over a day.

sluzava je plijesan riješila u nešto više od jednog dana.

The conclusion from their experiment

Zaključak njihovog istraživanja

was that the slime mold can form efficient networks

bio je da sluzava plijesan može tvoriti učinkovite mreže

and solve the traveling salesman problem.

i rješavati probleme trgovačkih putnika.

It is a biological computer.

Ona je biološko računalo.

As such, it has been mathematically modeled,

Kao takvo, matematički je modelirana,

algorithmically analyzed.

algoritamski raščlanjena.

It's been sonified, replicated, simulated.

Bila je ozvučena, replicirana, simulirana.

World over, teams of researchers

Diljem svijeta, timovi istraživača

are decoding its biological principles

dekodiraju njezina biološka načela

to understand its computational rules

kako bi razumjeli njezine računalne zakonitosti

and applying that learning to the fields of electronics,

i to primijenili na područja elektronike,

programming and robotics.

programiranja i robotike.

So the question is,

Pitanje je,

how does this thing work?

kako ta stvar radi?

It doesn't have a central nervous system.

Nema središnji živčani sustav.

It doesn't have a brain,

Nema mozak,

yet it can perform behaviors

a može izvoditi ponašanja

that we associate with brain function.

koja povezujemo s moždanom funkcijom.

It can learn, it can remember,

Može učiti, može pamtiti,

it can solve problems, it can make decisions.

može rješavati probleme, može donositi odluke.

So where does that intelligence lie?

Gdje leži njezina inteligencija?

So this is a microscopy, a video I shot,

Ovo je mikroskopska snimka koju sam snimila,

and it's about 100 times magnification,

na povećanju od približno 100 puta,

sped up about 20 times,

ubrzano oko 20 puta,

and inside the slime mold,

i unutar sluzave plijesni,

there is a rhythmic pulsing flow,

postoji ritmično pulsirajuće strujanje,

a vein-like structure carrying

struktura nalik veni nosi

cellular material, nutrients and chemical information

stanični materijal, nutrijente i kemijsku informaciju

through the cell,

po stanici,

streaming first in one direction and then back in another.

tekući prvo u jednom smjeru pa natrag u drugom smjeru.

And it is this continuous, synchronous oscillation

Ova kontinuirana, sinkrona oscilacija

within the cell that allows it to form

unutar stanice omogućava joj da stvori

quite a complex understanding of its environment,

složeno razumijevanje okoline,

but without any large-scale control center.

ali bez makroskopskog kontrolnog središta.

This is where its intelligence lies.

Ovdje leži njezina inteligencija.

So it's not just academic researchers

Nisu samo istraživači

in universities that are interested in this organism.

na sveučilištima zainteresirani za ovaj organizam.

A few years ago, I set up SliMoCo,

Prije nekoliko sam godina pokrenula SliMoCo,

the Slime Mould Collective.

Udruženje za Sluzavu Plijesan (eng. Slime Mould Collective.)

It's an online, open, democratic network

To je online, otvorena, demokratska mreža

for slime mold researchers and enthusiasts

za istraživače sluzave plijesni i entuzijaste

to share knowledge and experimentation

kako bi mogli dijeliti svoje znanje i istraživanja

across disciplinary divides

preko granica pojedinih disciplina

and across academic divides.

i akademskih granica.

The Slime Mould Collective membership is self-selecting.

Članstvo se samo izabire.

People have found the collective

Ljudi su ovu inicijativu pronašli

as the slime mold finds the oats.

na način na koji sluzava plijesan pronalazi zob.

And it comprises of scientists

Sastoji se od znanstvenika,

and computer scientists and researchers

informatičara i istraživača,

but also artists like me,

ali i od umjetnika kao što sam ja,

architects, designers, writers, activists, you name it.

arhitekata, dizajnera, pisaca, aktivista, čega god.

It's a very interesting, eclectic membership.

To je vrlo zanimljiva, eklektična ekipa.

Just a few examples:

Evo nekoliko primjera:

an artist who paints with fluorescent Physarum;

umjetnik koji slika s fluorescentnim Physarumom;

a collaborative team

ekipa koja surađuje

who are combining biological and electronic design

i koja kombinira biološki i elektronički dizajn

with 3D printing technologies in a workshop;

s 3D printanjem u radionici;

another artist who is using the slime mold

još jedan umjetnik koji koristi sluzavu plijesan

as a way of engaging a community

kako bi pokrenuo zajednicu

to map their area.

da mapira svoje područje.

Here, the slime mold is being used directly

Ovdje se sluzava plijesan izravno koristi

as a biological tool, but metaphorically

kao biološko oruđe, ali metaforički

as a symbol for ways of talking

kao simbol načina govorenja

about social cohesion, communication

o socijalnoj koheziji, komunikaciji

and cooperation.

i suradnji.

Other public engagement activities,

Postoje i druge aktivnosti.

I run lots of slime mold workshops,

Vodim mnogo radionica o sluzavoj plijesni,

a creative way of engaging with the organism.

kreativan način druženja s organizmom.

So people are invited to come and learn

Pozivamo ljude da dođu i nauče

about what amazing things it can do,

koje odlične stvari ona može učiniti,

and they design their own petri dish experiment,

i da osmisle svoj pokus u petrijevoj zdjelici,

an environment for the slime mold to navigate

u okolišu u kojem će sluzava plijesan navigirati

so they can test its properties.

i u kojem će moći testirati njezina svojstva.

Everybody takes home a new pet

Svi nose kući novog ljubimca

and is invited to post their results

i pozvani su da objave svoje rezultate

on the Slime Mould Collective.

na Slime Mould Collective.

And the collective has enabled me

A ta mi je zajednica omogućila

to form collaborations

da stvorim suradnju

with a whole array of interesting people.

s cijelim spektrom zanimljivih ljudi.

I've been working with filmmakers

Radila sam s filmašima

on a feature-length slime mold documentary,

na cjelovečernjem dokumentarcu o sluzavoj plijesni

and I stress feature-length,

naglašavam cjelovečernjem,

which is in the final stages of edit

i u posljednjim je fazama uređivanja

and will be hitting your cinema screens very soon.

i stiže u kina ubrzo.

(Laughter)

(Smijeh)

It's also enabled me to conduct what I think is

Omogućilo mi je i da provedem, prema mojoj spoznaji,

the world's first human slime mold experiment.

prvo istraživanje s čovjekom i sluzavom plijesni.

This is part of an exhibition in Rotterdam last year.

Ovo je dio izložbe u Rotterdamu prošle godine.

We invited people to become slime mold for half an hour.

Pozvali smo ljude da postanu sluzava plijesan na pola sata.

So we essentially tied people together

Zavezali smo ljude jedne za druge

so they were a giant cell,

tako da su bili jedna velika stanica

and invited them to follow slime mold rules.

i pozvali smo ih da slijede pravila sluzave plijesni.

You have to communicate through oscillations,

Morate komunicirati oscilacijama,

no speaking.

bez govora.

You have to operate as one entity, one mass cell,

Morate djelovati kao jedno biće, jedna stanica,

no egos,

nema ega,

and the motivation for moving

a motivacija za pokretanje

and then exploring the environment

i istraživanje okoline

is in search of food.

je potraga za hranom.

So a chaotic shuffle ensued as this bunch of strangers

Uslijedilo je kaotično preturanje, kako je ova skupina stranaca,

tied together with yellow ropes wearing "Being Slime Mold" t-shirts

povezanih žutim konopcima i u majicama s natpisom "Biti sluzava plijesan",

wandered through the museum park.

tumarala muzejskim parkom.

When they met trees, they had to reshape

Kad su došli do drveća, morali su promijeniti

their connections and reform as a mass cell

svoje poveznice i promijeniti se kao velika stanica

through not speaking.

bez govorenja.

This is a ludicrous experiment in many, many ways.

Ovo je lud pokus na toliko, toliko načina.

This isn't hypothesis-driven.

Ovo nije vođeno hipotezom.

We're not trying to prove, demonstrate anything.

Nismo pokušali dokazati ni pokazati ništa.

But what it did provide us was a way

Ali ono nam je pružilo način

of engaging a broad section of the public

aktiviranja velikog dijela javnosti

with ideas of intelligence, agency, autonomy,

u razmišljanje o inteligenciji, djelatnosti, autonomiji,

and provide a playful platform

i dalo nam je zaigranu platformu

for discussions about

za raspravu o

the things that ensued.

stvarima koje su slijedile.

One of the most exciting things

Jedna od najuzbudljivijih stvari

about this experiment

kod ovog pokusa

was the conversation that happened afterwards.

bio je razgovor koji je uslijedio.

An entirely spontaneous symposium happened in the park.

Potpuno se spontan simpozij dogodio u parku.

People talked about the human psychology,

Ljudi su govorili o ljudskoj psihologiji,

of how difficult it was to let go

o tome kako je teško pustiti nešto,

of their individual personalities and egos.

o njihovim osobnostima i egu.

Other people talked about bacterial communication.

Drugi su ljudi govorili o komuniciranju bakterija.

Each person brought in their own

Svaka je osoba dala

individual interpretation,

svoju interpretaciju,

and our conclusion from this experiment was that

a naš je zaključak ovog pokusa bio

the people of Rotterdam were highly cooperative,

da su ljudi u Rotterdamu vrlo kooperativni,

especially when given beer.

posebno kad im se da pivo.

We didn't just give them oats.

Nismo im samo dali zob.

We gave them beer as well.

Dali smo im i pivo.

But they weren't as efficient as the slime mold,

Ali nisu bili učinkoviti kao sluzava plijesan,

and the slime mold, for me,

a sluzava je plijesan, za mene,

is a fascinating subject matter.

fascinantna tema.

It's biologically fascinating,

Biološki je fascinantna,

it's computationally interesting,

računalno je zanimljiva,

but it's also a symbol,

ali je i simbol,

a way of engaging with ideas of community,

način angažiranja zajednice u pojedinim temama,

collective behavior, cooperation.

kolektivnom ponašanju, suradnji.

A lot of my work draws on the scientific research,

Velik se dio mog rada temelji na znanstvenim istraživanjima,

so this pays homage to the maze experiment

tako da je ovo u čast pokusa s labirintom,

but in a different way.

ali na drugačiji način.

And the slime mold is also my working material.

Sluzava je plijesan i moj radni materijal.

It's a coproducer of photographs, prints, animations,

Ona je koproducent fotografija, ispisa, animacija,

participatory events.

događanja.

Whilst the slime mold doesn't choose

I dok sluzava plijesan baš i ne bira

to work with me, exactly,

raditi sa mnom.

it is a collaboration of sorts.

Ipak se radi o vidu suradnje.

I can predict certain behaviors

Mogu predvidjeti pojedina ponašanja

by understanding how it operates,

kako bih razumjela kako djeluje,

but I can't control it.

ali ju ne mogu kontrolirati.

The slime mold has the final say

Plijesan ima zadnju riječ

in the creative process.

u kreativnom procesu.

And after all, it has its own internal aesthetics.

Na kraju, ima svoju unutarnju estetiku.

These branching patterns that we see

Ovi šireći obrasci koje vidimo

we see across all forms, scales of nature,

vidimo ih u svim oblicima, slojevima prirode,

from river deltas to lightning strikes,

od riječnih ušća do udara munje,

from our own blood vessels to neural networks.

od krvih žila do neuralnih mreža.

There's clearly significant rules at play

Zasigurno postoje značajna pravila

in this simple yet complex organism,

u ovom jednostavnom, a opet složenom organizmu,

and no matter what our disciplinary perspective or our mode of inquiry,

i bez obzira na našu disciplinu, perspektivu ili način ispitivanja,

there's a great deal that we can learn

postoji mnogo toga što možemo naučiti

from observing and engaging

iz promatranja i angažiranja

with this beautiful, brainless blob.

ove lijepe mrlje bez mozga.

I give you Physarum polycephalum.

Predstavljam vam Physarum polycephalum.

Thank you.

Hvala.

(Applause)

(Pljesak)