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

Prevodilac: Maja Budišin Lukin Lektor: Mile Živković

I'd like to introduce you to an organism:

Želela bih da vam predstavim jedan organizam:

a slime mold, Physarum polycephalum.

sluzavu plesan, Physarum polycephalum.

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

To je plesan s krizom identiteta, jer nije plesan,

so let's get that straight to start with.

raščistimo s tim na samom početku.

It is one of 700 known slime molds

Jedna je od 700 poznatih sluzavih plesni

belonging to the kingdom of the amoeba.

koje pripadaju carstvu ameba.

It is a single-celled organism, a cell,

Jednoćelijski je organizam, ćelija,

that joins together with other cells

koja se spaja sa drugim ćelijama

to form a mass super-cell

radi formiranja masivne super-ćelije

to maximize its resources.

da bi maksimirala svoje resurse.

So within a slime mold you might find thousands

Unutar sluzave plesni možete pronaći hiljade

or millions of nuclei,

ili milione jedara,

all sharing a cell wall,

koja dele ćelijski zid

all operating as one entity.

i deluju kao jedan entitet.

In its natural habitat,

U svom prirodnom staništu,

you might find the slime mold foraging in woodlands,

sluzavu plesan možete pronaći u njenom šumskom traženju hrane,

eating rotting vegetation,

kako jede trulu vegetaciju,

but you might equally find it

ali takođe

in research laboratories,

i u istraživačkim laboratorijima,

classrooms, and even artists' studios.

učionicama, pa čak i u umetničkim ateljeima.

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

Prvi put sam na nju naišla pre otprilike pet godina.

A microbiologist friend of mine

Prijatelj mikrobiolog

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

mi je dao petrijevu posudu sa žutom grudvicom

and told me to go home and play with it.

rekavši da se kući s njom poigram.

The only instructions I was given,

Jedina uputstva su bila

that it likes it dark and damp

da voli mračno i vlažno

and its favorite food is porridge oats.

i da joj je omiljena hrana ovsena kaša.

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

Umetnica sam i dugi niz godina sam radila

with biology, with scientific processes,

sa biološkim naučnim postupcima,

so living material is not uncommon for me.

pa mi živi materijal nije neobičan.

I've worked with plants, bacteria,

Radila sam sa biljkama, bakterijama

cuttlefish, fruit flies.

sipama, voćnim mušicama.

So I was keen to get my new collaborator home

Jedva sam čekala da odnesem svoju novu saradnicu kući

to see what it could do.

da vidim šta može da radi.

So I took it home and I watched.

Odnela sam je kući i posmatrala.

I fed it a varied diet.

Davala sam joj raznovrsnu hranu.

I observed as it networked.

Posmatrala sam kako se umrežava.

It formed a connection between food sources.

Stvarala je vezu između izvora hrane.

I watched it leave a trail behind it,

Gledala sam kako ostavlja trag iza sebe,

indicating where it had been.

označavajući gde je bila.

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

Primetila sam da bi se, kad je bila zasićena jednom petrijevom posudom,

it would escape and find a better home.

izmicala i tražila bolji dom.

I captured my observations

Zabeležila sam svoja opažanja

through time-lapse photography.

putem snimanja proteklog vremena.

Slime mold grows at about one centimeter an hour,

Sluzava plesan raste oko jedan centimetar na sat,

so it's not really ideal for live viewing

pa i nije idealna za posmatranje uživo

unless there's some form of really extreme meditation,

osim ako postoji neki vid zaista ekstremne meditacije,

but through the time lapse,

ali pomoću ove tehnike

I could observe some really interesting behaviors.

mogla sam opažati neka zaista zanimljiva ponašanja.

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

Na primer, pošto se nahranila lepom porcijom ovsa

the slime mold goes off to explore new territories

sluzava plesan odlazi na istraživanje novih teritorija

in different directions simultaneously.

u različitim smerovima istovremeno.

When it meets itself,

Kada sebe sretne

it knows it's already there,

zna da je već tu,

it recognizes it's there,

prepoznaje gde je,

and instead retreats back

pa se povlači nazad

and grows in other directions.

i raste u drugim pravcima.

I was quite impressed by this feat,

Bila sam prilično impresionirana ovim poduhvatom,

at how what was essentially just a bag of cellular slime

kako u suštini obična vreća ćelijske sluzi

could somehow map its territory,

može da nekako mapira svoje teritorije,

know itself, and move with seeming intention.

da se prepozna i da se kreće kao da ima nameru.

I found countless scientific studies,

Našla sam bezbroj naučnih studija,

research papers, journal articles,

radova, članaka,

all citing incredible work with this one organism,

svi navode neverovatan rad s tim jednim organizmom

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

i podeliću sa vama neke od njih.

For example, a team in Hokkaido University in Japan

Na primer, tim na japanskom univerzitetu Hokaido

filled a maze with slime mold.

napunio je lavirint sluzavom plesni.

It joined together and formed a mass cell.

Spojile su se i formirale masivnu ćeliju.

They introduced food at two points,

Uveli su joj hranu na dva mesta,

oats of course,

ovas, naravno

and it formed a connection

i napravila je vezu

between the food.

između hrane.

It retracted from empty areas and dead ends.

Povukla se iz praznih prostora i ćorsokaka.

There are four possible routes through this maze,

Postoje četiri moguća puta kroz lavirint,

yet time and time again,

a sluzava plesan je, apsolutno svaki put

the slime mold established the shortest

napravila najkraći

and the most efficient route.

i najefikasniji put.

Quite clever.

Vrlo pametno.

The conclusion from their experiment

Zaključak iz njihovog eksperimenta

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

je bio da je sluzava plesan primitivni oblik inteligencije.

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

U drugoj studiji su joj puštali hladan vazduh u redovnim intervalima.

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

To joj se nije dopalo. Hladno ne voli.

It doesn't like it dry.

Ne voli osušeno.

They did this at repeat intervals,

To su ponavljali u intervalima

and each time, the slime mold

i svaki put je odreagovala

slowed down its growth in response.

usporavajući svoj rast.

However, at the next interval,

Kada istraživači u narednom intervalu

the researchers didn't put the cold air on,

nisu pustili hladan vazduh,

yet the slime mold slowed down in anticipation

sluzava plesan je ipak usporila u očekivanju

of it happening.

tog događaja.

It somehow knew that it was about the time

Nekako je znala da je vreme

for the cold air that it didn't like.

za hladan vazduh koji joj se ne dopada.

The conclusion from their experiment

Zaključak iz njihovog eksperimenta

was that the slime mold was able to learn.

je bio da sluzava plesan može da uči.

A third experiment:

Treći eksperiment:

the slime mold was invited

sluzavoj plesni je dato

to explore a territory covered in oats.

da istraži područje pokriveno ovsom.

It fans out in a branching pattern.

Raspršila se u razgranati uzorak.

As it goes, each food node it finds,

Kako to već ide, svaki čvorić hrane koji nađe,

it forms a network, a connection to,

priključuje, tvorenjem veza u mreži

and keeps foraging.

i nastavlja u potrazi za hranom.

After 26 hours, it established

Posle 26 sati, stvorila je

quite a firm network

prilično čvrstu mrežu

between the different oats.

između rasutog ovsa.

Now there's nothing remarkable in this

U tome nije ništa izuzetno

until you learn that the center oat that it started from

sve dok ne saznate da centralni ovas od kojeg je započela

represents the city of Tokyo,

predstavlja grad Tokio,

and the surrounding oats are suburban railway stations.

a okolni ovas prigradske železničke stanice.

The slime mold had replicated

Sluzava plesan je kopirala

the Tokyo transport network

tokijsku prometnu mrežu

— (Laughter) —

- (Smeh) -

a complex system developed over time

kompleksan sistem razvijen tokom vremena

by community dwellings, civil engineering, urban planning.

iz životne prostore zajednice, građanskog inženjerstva, urbanog planiranja.

What had taken us well over 100 years

Nama je za to trebalo više od 100 godina,

took the slime mold just over a day.

a sluzavoj plesni nešto malo više od jednog dana.

The conclusion from their experiment

Zaključak iz njihovog eksperimenta

was that the slime mold can form efficient networks

je bio da sluzava plesan može da formira efikasne mreže

and solve the traveling salesman problem.

i rešava probleme trgovačkog putnika.

It is a biological computer.

Ona je biološki kompjuter.

As such, it has been mathematically modeled,

Kao takva je bila matematički oblikovana,

algorithmically analyzed.

algoritamski analizirana.

It's been sonified, replicated, simulated.

Bila je sonifikovana, kopirana, simulirana.

World over, teams of researchers

Širom sveta, timovi istraživača

are decoding its biological principles

dekodiraju njene biološke principe

to understand its computational rules

da bi razumeli njena pravila računanja

and applying that learning to the fields of electronics,

i primenili to učenje na područja elektronike,

programming and robotics.

programiranja i robotike.

So the question is,

Dakle, pitanje je,

how does this thing work?

kako ona funkcioniše?

It doesn't have a central nervous system.

Nema centralni nervni sistem

It doesn't have a brain,

ni mozak,

yet it can perform behaviors

a ipak pokazuje ponašanje

that we associate with brain function.

koje povezujemo s mozgom.

It can learn, it can remember,

Može da uči, da pamti,

it can solve problems, it can make decisions.

da rešava probleme, donosi odluke.

So where does that intelligence lie?

Pa, gde leži ta inteligencija?

So this is a microscopy, a video I shot,

Ovo je mikroskopija, video koji sam snimila

and it's about 100 times magnification,

i koji je uvećan oko 100 puta

sped up about 20 times,

i ubrzan oko 20 puta.

and inside the slime mold,

Unutar sluzave plesni,

there is a rhythmic pulsing flow,

postoji ritmički pulsirajući tok,

a vein-like structure carrying

struktura slična venama prenosi

cellular material, nutrients and chemical information

ćelijski materijal, hranjive sastojke i hemijske informacije

through the cell,

kroz ćeliju

streaming first in one direction and then back in another.

strujanjem prvo u jednom, a onda natrag u drugom pravcu.

And it is this continuous, synchronous oscillation

Te kontinuirane, sinhrone oscilacije

within the cell that allows it to form

unutar ćelije omogućavaju joj

quite a complex understanding of its environment,

prilično složeno razumevanje svoje okoline,

but without any large-scale control center.

ali bez ikakvog kontrolnog centra velikih razmera.

This is where its intelligence lies.

Tu leži njena inteligencija.

So it's not just academic researchers

Nisu samo akademski istraživači

in universities that are interested in this organism.

na univerzitetima zainteresovani za ovaj organizam.

A few years ago, I set up SliMoCo,

Pre nekoliko godina, osnovala sam SliMoCo,

the Slime Mould Collective.

Zajednicu sluzave plesni.

It's an online, open, democratic network

To je onlajn, otvorena, demokratska mreža

for slime mold researchers and enthusiasts

za istraživače sluzave plesni i entuzijaste

to share knowledge and experimentation

gde dele znanje i eksperimentisanje

across disciplinary divides

preko granica naučnih disiplina

and across academic divides.

i preko akademskih polarizacija.

The Slime Mould Collective membership is self-selecting.

Članstvo u Zajednici sluzave plesni odabirate sami.

People have found the collective

Ljudi su pronašli zajednicu

as the slime mold finds the oats.

kao što sluzava plesan pronalazi ovas.

And it comprises of scientists

U njoj su naučnici,

and computer scientists and researchers

kompjuterski naučnici i istraživači

but also artists like me,

ali takođe i umetnici, kao ja,

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

arhitekte, dizajneri, pisci, aktivisti itd.

It's a very interesting, eclectic membership.

To je vrlo zanimljivo, eklektičko članstvo.

Just a few examples:

Samo nekoliko primera:

an artist who paints with fluorescent Physarum;

umetnik koji slika fluorescentnim Physarum-om;

a collaborative team

saradnički tim

who are combining biological and electronic design

koji kombinuje biološki i elektronski dizajn

with 3D printing technologies in a workshop;

sa 3D tehnologijom štampanja u radionici;

another artist who is using the slime mold

drugi umetnik koji koristi sluzavu plesan

as a way of engaging a community

kao način angažovanja zajednice

to map their area.

da mapira svoje područje.

Here, the slime mold is being used directly

Ovde se sluzava plesan koristi direktno

as a biological tool, but metaphorically

kao biološki alat, ali metaforički

as a symbol for ways of talking

kao simbol za razgovore

about social cohesion, communication

o društvenoj koheziji, komunikaciji

and cooperation.

i saradnji.

Other public engagement activities,

Od ostalih aktivnosti javnog angažmana,

I run lots of slime mold workshops,

pokrenula sam mnoge radionice sluzave plesni,

a creative way of engaging with the organism.

kreativne načine za bavljenje organizmom.

So people are invited to come and learn

Pozvala sam ljude da dođu i nauče

about what amazing things it can do,

kakve neverovatne stvari radi

and they design their own petri dish experiment,

i oni dizajniraju sopstveni eksperiment petrijeve posude,

an environment for the slime mold to navigate

okruženja za navigaciju sluzave plesni,

so they can test its properties.

da mogu da ispituju njena svojstva.

Everybody takes home a new pet

Svako odnese kući novog ljubimca

and is invited to post their results

i pozvan je da pošalje svoje rezultate

on the Slime Mould Collective.

na Zajednicu sluzave plesni.

And the collective has enabled me

Zajednica mi je omogućila

to form collaborations

da sarađujem

with a whole array of interesting people.

sa čitavim nizom zanimljivih ljudi.

I've been working with filmmakers

Radila sam sa snimateljima

on a feature-length slime mold documentary,

na dugometražnom dokumentarcu o sluzavoj plesni,

and I stress feature-length,

naglašavam dugometražni,

which is in the final stages of edit

koji je u završnoj fazi

and will be hitting your cinema screens very soon.

i ubrzo će se pojaviti na vašim bioskopskim platnima.

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

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

Takođe mi je omogućila da izvedem ono što mislim da je

the world's first human slime mold experiment.

prvi humani eksperiment sluzave plesni na svetu.

This is part of an exhibition in Rotterdam last year.

To je deo prošlogodišnje izložbe u Roterdamu.

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

Pozvali smo ljude da pola sata budu sluzava plesan.

So we essentially tied people together

U suštini smo ih međusobno vezali,

so they were a giant cell,

da bi bili velika ćelija

and invited them to follow slime mold rules.

i pozvali smo ih da slede pravila sluzave plesni.

You have to communicate through oscillations,

Morate da komunicirate putem oscilacija,

no speaking.

bez reči.

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

Morate delovati kao jedan entitet, jedna masivna ćelija,

no egos,

bez ega,

and the motivation for moving

a motivacija za kretanje

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

Haotična zbrka je usledila kada je ova gomila stranaca

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

povezanih žutim konopcima, u majicama s natpisom "Biće sluzava plesan"

wandered through the museum park.

lutala muzejskim parkom.

When they met trees, they had to reshape

Kad su naišli na stabla, morali su da preoblikuju

their connections and reform as a mass cell

svoje veze i da se preurede kao masivna ćelija

through not speaking.

bez reči.

This is a ludicrous experiment in many, many ways.

To je apsurdan eksperiment iz mnogo razloga.

This isn't hypothesis-driven.

Nije zasnovan na hipotezama.

We're not trying to prove, demonstrate anything.

Ne pokušavamo da dokažemo, pokažemo ništa.

But what it did provide us was a way

Međutim, omogućio nam je

of engaging a broad section of the public

da široki deo javnosti zaokupiramo

with ideas of intelligence, agency, autonomy,

idejama o inteligenciji, aktivnosti, autonomiji,

and provide a playful platform

i pružio nam je razigranu platformu

for discussions about

za rasprave

the things that ensued.

o stvarima koje su usledile.

One of the most exciting things

Jedna od najuzbudljivijih stvari

about this experiment

povodom ovog eksperimenta

was the conversation that happened afterwards.

bio je razgovor posle toga.

An entirely spontaneous symposium happened in the park.

Sasvim spontani simpozijum se dogodio u parku.

Ljudi su razgovarali o ljudskoj psihologiji,

People talked about the human psychology,

of how difficult it was to let go

kako je teško odreći se

of their individual personalities and egos.

svoje ličnosti i ega.

Other people talked about bacterial communication.

Drugi ljudi su govorili o bakterijskoj komunikaciji.

Each person brought in their own

Svaka osoba je dala

individual interpretation,

sopstveno tumačenje

and our conclusion from this experiment was that

i naš zaključak iz ovog eksperimenta je bio

the people of Rotterdam were highly cooperative,

da su ljudi u Roterdamu bili vrlo kooperativni,

especially when given beer.

pogotovo kada su dobili pivo.

We didn't just give them oats.

Nismo im davali samo ovas.

We gave them beer as well.

Dali smo im i pivo.

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

Ipak nisu bili tako efikasni kao sluzava plesan

and the slime mold, for me,

koja je za mene,

is a fascinating subject matter.

fascinantna tema.

It's biologically fascinating,

Fascinantna je biološki,

it's computationally interesting,

zanimljiva računarski,

but it's also a symbol,

ali je takođe i simbol,

a way of engaging with ideas of community,

način uključivanja ideja zajednice,

collective behavior, cooperation.

kolektivnog ponašanja, saradnje.

A lot of my work draws on the scientific research,

Veliki deo moga rada se oslanja na naučna istraživanja,

so this pays homage to the maze experiment

pa se ovim odaje počast eksperimentu lavirinta,

but in a different way.

ali na drugačiji način.

And the slime mold is also my working material.

Sluzava plesan je takođe moj radni materijal.

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

Ona je saizvođač fotografija, grafika, animacija,

participatory events.

participativnih događaja.

Whilst the slime mold doesn't choose

Iako sluzava plesan ne bira

to work with me, exactly,

da radi sa mnom,

it is a collaboration of sorts.

to jeste neka vrsta saradnje.

I can predict certain behaviors

Mogu da predvidim određena ponašanja

by understanding how it operates,

razumevanjem kako funkcioniše,

but I can't control it.

ali ne mogu da je kontrolišem.

The slime mold has the final say

Sluzava plesan ima zadnju reč

in the creative process.

u kreativnom procesu.

And after all, it has its own internal aesthetics.

I na kraju, ona ima sopstvenu unutrašnju estetiku.

These branching patterns that we see

Ovi razgranati uzorci koje vidimo,

we see across all forms, scales of nature,

viđamo u svim prirodnim oblicima i razmerama,

from river deltas to lightning strikes,

od rečnih delti do sevanja munje,

from our own blood vessels to neural networks.

od naših krvnih sudova do neuronskih mreža.

There's clearly significant rules at play

Postoje očito značajna pravila igre

in this simple yet complex organism,

u ovom jednostavnom, a ipak složenom organizmu

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

i bez obzira koje je naša perspektiva ili naš način ispitivanja,

there's a great deal that we can learn

postoji mnogo toga što možemo da naučimo

from observing and engaging

iz opažanja i bavljenja

with this beautiful, brainless blob.

sa ovom lepom grudvicom bez mozga.

I give you Physarum polycephalum.

Dajem vam Physarum polycephalum.

Thank you.

Hvala vam.

(Applause)

(Aplauz)