It’s been a consultant for NASA, shot at by police and mistaken for an alien. How slime mold—a brainless, single-celled organism—mapped the dark universe, keeps challenging the top minds to rethink intelligence, and has an ability to fill us with wonder beyond the human kind.
Slime mold’s party tricks are proving to be laced with valuable intel we wouldn’t have without them.
Slime mold’s oddities are balanced by behavior that is ultra-relatable—they are ruled by food! Case in point: A hungry individual is avoided more by its peers than a poisoned one. Humans are now looking to the hardwired programming that gets them fed ASAP to feed the next big innovation.
No one would guess human bones and slime mold would lead a design trend. Definitely not a billion dollar one. But the epically odd duo earned seats at the design table, and the results make you wonder why every design team doesn’t consult them from the start.
No powerful limbs. No aerodynamic wings. So slow, movement can only be noticed with a timelapse video. So why are the experts turning to slime mold for mobility breakthroughs?
They’ve mapped rail systems, nervous systems, the cosmos and gave us a fresh take on Paris. But how? And what does this mean for future cities and how we live in them?
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