Holobiont Music

 

A clip that I just discovered, cited by Merlin Sheldrake in his book "Entangled Life" -- Sheldrake is an expert in fungi and he wrote a truly amazing book about the intricacies of fungal life - I am still reading it and I am more amazed after every page. The author uses the term "holobiont" only occasionally, but it is clear that it is a concept that merges very well with his description of how "mycobionts" merge with "photobionts" to form the fundamental unit of life on Earth: plants and fungi.

This song by Baka women is titled "Song for Gathering Mushrooms" -- it is a completely different idea from what we call "music" -- I'd say that our music is an organism where all players act according to an overall plan under a central control. The Baka music is something where everyone sings something different: there is no "rhythm," no synchrony, nothing like that. The result is a "sound holobiont" an entity that somehow mingles the various sounds in an organic and fascinating entity. It takes some time to get used to that, though!

Biophobia: one more example of our fear of Nature and of ourselves

 

 

A clip from "Dust."  They are a company specialized in airing short sfi-fi films. The quality of what you can see is very variable, goes from the boring to the silly, includes the very clever, and sometimes true gems. 

I thought I could inflict on you this clip not because it is especially good, but not so bad, either. It may be good as entertainment. It has distinct "1950s" feel and it could go in the same category as the old "The Creature from the Black Lagoon." What's strange is that it was made in 2020 and one could think we had overcome that attitude of old that saw non-human creatures as monsters. 

Here, we have a good example of the current wave of "biophobia" -- it is the story of a young woman who is bitten by a mosquito. Then, the mosquito flies to meet a subterranean monster who uses the genetic information contained in the woman's blood to create a clone of her.

As I said, not bad as entertainment but, as biophobia goes, this is the way many of us see the creatures that surround us. Creatures to be kept away from our bodies as much as possible, least we'd be contaminated. And, in the end, I think the clip has a logic that perhaps even its authors didn't realize: it is our fear of sickness, our fear of death, our fear of bodily decay. All amplified by the tiny monster we call coronavirus -- a name that brings a hint of  the crown that death used to wear in medieval iconography, a symbol of power.

All fears that have taken over our minds everywhere. And how the woman of the clip sees he double is as she sees herself as in a mirror. It tells us a lot of how we see ourselves nowadays. We are scared of our fellow human beings, a monstruous, innatural, unimaginable (up to now) feeling. It is, first of all, a sickness of the mind. We will not be healed we come to a pact with nature, only then we'll be able to understand who we are. Onward, fellow holobionts!

  

 

A happy holobiont is a holobiont that takes care of its microbiome

An obviously unhappy holobiont engaged in exterminating its own microbiome. Bad idea.

The epidemic of biophobia is still raging worldwide, with people still washing their hands with poisonous substances, convinced to do something good, or forced by law to do so.

Not a good idea. You skin microbiome is precious to you, among other things it is the first true barrier against infections. Some people are recognizing the problem, as it is described in a recent article on "The Guardian"

Just an excerpt:

Hand-washing aside, James Hamblin has not used soap for five years. He warns that our obsession with being clean is harming the microbiome that keeps us healthy

Take care of your microbiome, and be a happy holobiont!

(h/t Miguel Martinez)

Minding Nature

Dear fellow holobionts,

You may be interested in this site, and in the journal titled "Minding Nature." They do deal with the concept of "holobiont" and are interested in a holistic view of the relation of humankind and nature. The latest issue is mainly dedicated to Alexander Von Humboldt, he didn't know about holobionts, but he would surely have appreciated the concept! Onward!

Share ideas on conservation values and the practice of ecological citizenship.

HUMANSANDNATURE.ORG

Minding Nature | Journal

Share ideas on conservation values and the practice of ecological citizenship.