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helen99After spending some time reading the book "Mycelium Running" by Paul Stamets, I began comparing certain technological developments to the growth of a a mycelial mat. Take cell text messaging, for example...
It's largely silent and invisible. It occurs any time and anywhere there is a signal (optimal growing conditions). Mostly hidden from outer view or hearing (buried about an inch or 2 underground), little messages (mycelial tendrils) come together to form larger planned events (a solid mycelial mat). The hidden accumulation of messages (underground mycelial mat) is there long before the event (fruiting bodies/mushrooms).
Open source development has the same feel, with several independent open source projects sometimes coalescing to form an event, an application, a distribution, whatever.
It's largely silent and invisible. It occurs any time and anywhere there is a signal (optimal growing conditions). Mostly hidden from outer view or hearing (buried about an inch or 2 underground), little messages (mycelial tendrils) come together to form larger planned events (a solid mycelial mat). The hidden accumulation of messages (underground mycelial mat) is there long before the event (fruiting bodies/mushrooms).
Open source development has the same feel, with several independent open source projects sometimes coalescing to form an event, an application, a distribution, whatever.