How This Blob Solves Mazes | WIRED

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  • Опубліковано 24 жов 2019
  • Physarum polycephalum is a single-celled, brainless organism that can make “decisions,” and solve mazes. Anne Pringle, who is a mycologist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, explains everything you need to know about what these slime molds are and how they fit into our ecosystem.
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  • Наука та технологія

КОМЕНТАРІ • 445

  • @hitzcritz
    @hitzcritz 4 роки тому +1031

    That would be the most terrifying thing on Earth if it moved that fast in real-time...

    • @de_light641
      @de_light641 4 роки тому +54

      then it'll reach your toes...and then *YOUR FACE*

    • @theangriestcatintheworld
      @theangriestcatintheworld 4 роки тому +11

      @@de_light641 Nooooo! Not the whiskers! Leave my whiskers alone!! :O

    • @theangriestcatintheworld
      @theangriestcatintheworld 4 роки тому +5

      @Ryan Luppino-Dawson Ah well, wouldn't that be handy in a fight?
      --"haha, I cut off your arm"
      --"haha, yeah, but watch THIS, ya wanker"

    • @TheMusicDoctor1
      @TheMusicDoctor1 4 роки тому +6

      How sped up are these clips?

    • @hundiddybopbop2569
      @hundiddybopbop2569 2 роки тому +2

      @@TheMusicDoctor1 it's been a year and I want to know

  • @mattb154
    @mattb154 4 роки тому +270

    Professor Pringle is a very engaging speaker.

    • @dandanthedandan7558
      @dandanthedandan7558 4 роки тому +10

      Matt B Every teacher should speak like that, no matter how unmotivated they are. It will really capture their students' attention.

    • @gregorclegane7563
      @gregorclegane7563 4 роки тому +9

      I cant get enough of her. As the saying goes, "Once you pop, you cant stop."

  • @Aviatial
    @Aviatial 4 роки тому +182

    It looks like a Mustard stain

    • @eddie_ad2050
      @eddie_ad2050 4 роки тому +5

      **FBI wants to know your location**

    • @B4NSHE3
      @B4NSHE3 4 роки тому +4

      Eat it

    • @Aviatial
      @Aviatial 4 роки тому +1

      Dashblade Zapper sure

    • @nyltiak1831
      @nyltiak1831 4 роки тому

      @elnubnub you could've also said nothing

    • @thejournalist8091
      @thejournalist8091 4 роки тому

      _İţš Čømpłıçâţēđ_ you could've also said nothing

  • @korpse6rinder
    @korpse6rinder 4 роки тому +159

    It looks like a circulatory system without a body.

  • @reneejanssen4953
    @reneejanssen4953 4 роки тому +25

    I love that Wired is making videos about topics like these, fascinating! Also, how environmentally friendly and efficient not to fly out to the people you interview but just Skype - it works fine and I imagine it leaves editors with more time to develop other interesting stories.

  • @abikusview
    @abikusview 4 роки тому +374

    It's not an animal. It's not a fungus. It's not a plant.
    We have found an alien.
    They are here...

    • @Q_QQ_Q
      @Q_QQ_Q 4 роки тому +8

      slime

    • @vyalint
      @vyalint 4 роки тому +6

      slime

    • @saakawithaG
      @saakawithaG 4 роки тому +32

      News flash there are other living organisms on this planet than just animals, plants and fungus. Ever heard of bacteria?

    • @deathbyseatoast8854
      @deathbyseatoast8854 4 роки тому +5

      abikusview
      Mate.
      Were you even listening to the video lmao?

    • @justinemarculit7453
      @justinemarculit7453 4 роки тому +3

      Yes aliens are possible but we cannot realize becauz it is in microscopic level like bacteria IF we exist in the early stages of alien life

  • @CaptTerrific
    @CaptTerrific 4 роки тому +71

    Absolutely fascinating!!! Thank you for putting up videos on these off-the-beaten-path topics :)

    • @WIRED
      @WIRED  4 роки тому +6

      Higgins2001 thank you for watching them!

  • @nolanfisher8501
    @nolanfisher8501 4 роки тому +54

    This is a really good analogy for finding what to do for your life. It's not a straight line for everyone. Sometimes you need to try all avenues you can. Some paths don't lead anywhere but it's okay. Because you're still searching. And sooner or later you will find it.... Yeah... Be like slime

  • @mateoarrechedera5067
    @mateoarrechedera5067 3 роки тому +2

    She is so happy talking about it it makes me happy

  • @Kumurajiva
    @Kumurajiva Рік тому +2

    "we dont know quite a lot" LOL, yup

  • @escoejr
    @escoejr Рік тому +4

    What if the brain is just an evolved slime mold consumed by early primates?

  • @selfdiscardedkingofruin7291
    @selfdiscardedkingofruin7291 4 роки тому +150

    Amazing. This crazy weird world we live in with its alien like species.

    • @plasboltz
      @plasboltz 4 роки тому +17

      Fungi such as Physarum predates humans, so realistically we are the the aliens.

    • @selfdiscardedkingofruin7291
      @selfdiscardedkingofruin7291 4 роки тому +5

      @@plasboltz
      I stand corrected 😁

    • @plasboltz
      @plasboltz 4 роки тому +1

      @Shane Smith Scientology.

  • @ingemar_von_zweigbergk
    @ingemar_von_zweigbergk 4 роки тому +6

    6:20 that's very diplomatic

  • @robertwatkins4121
    @robertwatkins4121 3 роки тому +2

    All I can think of is that blob at the end of prometheus that eats the engineer

  • @Pacwerdna
    @Pacwerdna 4 роки тому +71

    Wow. Seriously fascinating. Great job, WIRED

    • @WIRED
      @WIRED  4 роки тому +12

      Andrew Caplan thanks for watching!

  • @Drakonus_
    @Drakonus_ 4 роки тому +5

    I've seen many of these yellow blobs in my grandparents' house

  • @HyPerN0v4
    @HyPerN0v4 4 роки тому +76

    so it's basically a real life Djikstra algorithm ... cool

    • @csmckzhvn
      @csmckzhvn 4 роки тому +2

      Oh no! Not again... Just learned about Dijkstra's algorithm!!

    • @dan339dan
      @dan339dan 4 роки тому +11

      I actually believe human made algorithms and mechanisms might as well be mimicking naturally evolved mechanisms whether we knew it or not. Some optimal way even if not globally optimal had already been discovered by nature and used abundantly.
      Edit: what I meant was simple things like in a living organism: locking which is used in cells to give access to specific parcels, to invention of programming, which The DNA already does, to higher concepts like division of labor and security. To me, it's almost like the human society is following the footsteps of becoming a multi-cell organism itself.

    • @oldcowbb
      @oldcowbb Рік тому

      isn't it closer to RRT?

  • @lykathorn1516
    @lykathorn1516 3 роки тому +6

    I go here because my friend have a slime mold on their house right now, it's so interesting.

  • @shresthabageshwar2671
    @shresthabageshwar2671 4 роки тому +27

    This reminds me of the intro sequence of the The Last Of Us!

  • @marcfruchtman9473
    @marcfruchtman9473 Рік тому +2

    Great interview.

  • @jeanettemarkley7299
    @jeanettemarkley7299 11 місяців тому +2

    I have a slime mold in my yard! I love it! I will name it. I'm going to take a picture of it everyday.

  • @nickc3657
    @nickc3657 4 роки тому +5

    The Creeping Garden is a documentary about these creatures. It’s very interesting and very boring at different times, but overall worth a watch if you’re “into” this subject.

  • @treborironwolfe978
    @treborironwolfe978 4 роки тому +7

    Wow.. Quaker Oats.. seems I may have more in common with this organism than at first glance.

  • @beatsbykana
    @beatsbykana 4 роки тому +1

    "....yes" he couldn't see it lol

  • @the_tea05
    @the_tea05 4 роки тому +7

    The fact that I knew what this was (I go to a specialized STEM school and some kid did a project on it and I had to review it) it’s fun to actually know what someone’s talking about while watching videos.

  • @xxxxxGhostBoyxxxxx
    @xxxxxGhostBoyxxxxx 2 роки тому +3

    I need this blob to solve my issue with life direction.

  • @clutchyfinger
    @clutchyfinger 4 роки тому +4

    You can get slime molds in your yard if its been raining a lot. Sometimes it looks like puke, but you poke it, and the inside is black and crumbly.

  • @abyoubbyou1252
    @abyoubbyou1252 3 роки тому +8

    Ma'am. Thank you for this information. Cells operate through survival. It'll be cool to learn that everything started as a blob and then progressed to multicellular as food sources increased.

  • @nirmal148
    @nirmal148 4 роки тому +3

    Mom : Oats is healthy for you.
    Slime mould : hold my beer.

  • @Itsalljustablur
    @Itsalljustablur Рік тому +2

    Ive always wanted to see Physarum Polycephalum (the blob) in real life!

  • @fholojr
    @fholojr 4 роки тому +8

    This is a blob that solves mazes according to Doctor Pringle.
    Thank you, Internet. Never change.

  • @0ptimal
    @0ptimal Рік тому +1

    Optimal path identified when connection to the destination is made.

  • @TMWriting
    @TMWriting 4 роки тому +5

    That was nice of you to introduce us to your cologist, Matt.

  • @ghplayer9228
    @ghplayer9228 2 роки тому +1

    Me watching videos while I’m waiting for my plasmodium to get here:

  • @AP-fg8vt
    @AP-fg8vt 4 роки тому +4

    So the pretty intelligent slime molds can now run advertisement campaigns for Quaker oats.

  • @charlestalks5638
    @charlestalks5638 4 роки тому +87

    It's so called 'maze solving abilities' have been known for a long time. I don't know why it's suddenly arrived at the publics attention.

    • @carlosandleon
      @carlosandleon 4 роки тому +48

      because Paris put it in the zoo

    • @josiahmorris2572
      @josiahmorris2572 4 роки тому +3

      @@carlosandleon ah

    • @charlestalks5638
      @charlestalks5638 4 роки тому +6

      @Imight Realperson I saw this in the newspaper and on some Snapchat stories as well. I guess this is just a feature of journalism that all sources comment on the same subjects simultaneously.

    • @orchdork775
      @orchdork775 4 роки тому +9

      @Imight Realperson There are *tons* of articles and videos about it, and it has been trending on Twitter. Even news stations have reported on it. it absolutely is in the public's attention. Obviously, not everyone is gonna have seen it, but a large portion of internet users has been viewing these articles and videos and sharing them on social media. I can't stress enough just how many articles, videos and social media posts I have seen about this creature in the last few days/week. It's honestly ridiculous.

    • @gustenhr
      @gustenhr 4 роки тому +1

      @Imight Realperson It is in the public's attention right now, though. I came across it on a major news site here in Brazil.

  • @JGHinton1989
    @JGHinton1989 4 роки тому +3

    LOL one of my suggested videos was "molly and carla make perfect mashed potatoes" on bon appetit. I was coming to make a thoughtful comment about this fascinating video, but then i forgot when I saw those yellow mashed potatoes.

    • @nope.thankies
      @nope.thankies 2 роки тому

      Ha! You have much in common with the slime 😌🤌

  • @prescott231233
    @prescott231233 4 роки тому +11

    I think it uses its arms to seek where it gets the most energy. Then as an energy saving mechanism it consumes it own arms, and repurposes that energy to seek the more nutrient rich zones.
    I also think that it uses chemical sense as it’s main way of understanding what’s around it. I want to study this more.

  • @Ripplin
    @Ripplin 4 роки тому +2

    Clearly a superior being.
    "Don't blame me; I voted for [slime mold]!"

  • @chrixthegreat
    @chrixthegreat 4 роки тому +1

    I have one of these growing in my worm bin. It looks like it is the same species as this.

  • @kathywolf4558
    @kathywolf4558 4 роки тому +1

    Very interesting. Thank you very much.

  • @thegoodguy7777
    @thegoodguy7777 3 роки тому +10

    I've had slim mold growing in my mulch!!! I didn't realize I had such an amazing creature living next to me!

  • @mindskills7890
    @mindskills7890 4 роки тому +3

    How long will it live?

  • @YASHGIRIGOSWAMI
    @YASHGIRIGOSWAMI 4 роки тому +2

    That's just Yellow Venom with reduced steps

  • @photelegy
    @photelegy 4 роки тому +24

    6:00
    It just sounds like she describes quantum mechanics.
    Like in the double-slit-experiment when the quantum particle (e.g. light) goes through every possible way and than chooses the best one with the highest possibility.
    I find this very interesting to compare it as two models.
    Who else?

    • @iamhawkeye3162
      @iamhawkeye3162 4 роки тому +1

      I was thinking something similar. It’s almost like a biological computer in a sense.

  • @stephenmcdonagh2795
    @stephenmcdonagh2795 2 роки тому +4

    Fun fact; it prefers a branded American oat rather than organic oats.

  • @drewofearth6681
    @drewofearth6681 4 роки тому +36

    6:55 “I love my husband very much but [...] we did not fuse into a single body.”
    ...I mean, don’t knock it til you’ve tried it, amirite?

  • @BearAxeBear
    @BearAxeBear 4 роки тому +1

    The origin of slime

  • @rosalievillanueva8732
    @rosalievillanueva8732 4 роки тому +1

    Thought of a blob out of the blue brought me here. Cool! 🤘🏼

  • @potmki6601
    @potmki6601 4 роки тому +2

    Its a *fusion*! I didn't know it was a real thing!

  • @Vincentus
    @Vincentus Рік тому +2

    It looks like a primitive stage of the substance the Zerg build their structures on...well played, Zerg. Well played.

  • @urfan7850
    @urfan7850 Рік тому +1

    Amazing!

  • @daniel1980
    @daniel1980 4 роки тому +1

    The blob is just a slow motion of death.

  • @vincenttaylor5115
    @vincenttaylor5115 4 роки тому +1

    Physarum solves mazes the same way I solve Rubic's cubes; take it apart and put it back together solved!

  • @billnyethenazispy3508
    @billnyethenazispy3508 4 роки тому +3

    The blob is smarter than me

  • @lexbaldwin5613
    @lexbaldwin5613 4 роки тому

    This video talks down to its audience a lot.

  • @Icebox11
    @Icebox11 10 місяців тому +4

    *The Last of Us theme plays*

  • @daanwassenaar3886
    @daanwassenaar3886 4 роки тому +7

    This is the beginning of the last of us that is. We all dead man walking

  • @JRamen12
    @JRamen12 4 роки тому +16

    Anyone else think this would be an amazing horror concept for a movie or video game?

    • @_prestonmarx
      @_prestonmarx 4 роки тому +1

      Jimmy Sieng symbiosis in Venom the movie

    • @89tothbianka
      @89tothbianka 4 роки тому

      It already exists

    • @Kittlyn
      @Kittlyn 4 роки тому

      There was a movie like this where some black mold was killing people and could control dead bodies

    • @AstroZero1
      @AstroZero1 4 роки тому +1

      There is literally a movie called blob

  • @justdoit158
    @justdoit158 4 роки тому +2

    Is that *_Rimuru Tempest_*

  • @karinarnaud4093
    @karinarnaud4093 4 роки тому

    It sure is very motivated by food. 😂

  • @belathor1578
    @belathor1578 4 роки тому +1

    Now give it eyes

  • @Jcknight7996
    @Jcknight7996 3 роки тому +3

    If you could get the cells to generate an electrical signal and connect it to a system could it 'become' an AI and 'learn'

  • @alexandrelebel2590
    @alexandrelebel2590 4 роки тому +2

    It's actually a city with tiny people living inside.

  • @nikhilshrestha206
    @nikhilshrestha206 2 роки тому +1

    Fascinating. Where can I eat them?

  • @EddieGooch
    @EddieGooch 4 роки тому

    Did you just called me "blob"?

  • @georgefreedomwashingtontru9600
    @georgefreedomwashingtontru9600 4 роки тому +1

    This is so cool

  • @Just_Adu_It
    @Just_Adu_It 3 роки тому +2

    The information it’s passing through expansion & contraction could be calcium. Could someone elaborate in more detail. I’m very interested !

  • @staralex1558
    @staralex1558 3 роки тому +1

    Amazing.

  • @geologyhistory5757
    @geologyhistory5757 4 роки тому +1

    Slimes sense the environment and systematically reinforce optimal paths

    • @DattaramMiruke
      @DattaramMiruke 2 роки тому +1

      Sort of like reinforcement learning algorithm

  • @lexbaldwin5613
    @lexbaldwin5613 4 роки тому +4

    What is this blob?
    THE BLOB IS A SLIME MOLD...

  • @hmdz150
    @hmdz150 3 роки тому

    It is like sci-fi, Resident Evil 2 zombie plants grew just like this organism.

  • @cdkufd5366
    @cdkufd5366 4 роки тому +2

    I want it in my coffee ☕

  • @z0uLess
    @z0uLess 3 роки тому

    Reminds me of that annihilation movie. Also, it can possibly tell us something about how our brain got to be?

  • @jojomakes
    @jojomakes 4 роки тому

    I watched this twice and still really have no idea what exactly it is lol.

  • @Mikey-uu8fi
    @Mikey-uu8fi Рік тому +1

    Looks like a symbiote

  • @stanvandervoort2240
    @stanvandervoort2240 4 роки тому +1

    That's amazing

  • @chai4029
    @chai4029 4 роки тому +5

    This is literally an scp

  • @ethanhuang1566
    @ethanhuang1566 4 роки тому

    Wow this new venom symbote is pretty cool!

  • @meow-ds9ko
    @meow-ds9ko 4 роки тому +3

    Why did I remember the Hannibal?

  • @pepega4965
    @pepega4965 3 роки тому +1

    Me and the boys when its level 5 biohazard abord the station

  • @sarahsmigel4921
    @sarahsmigel4921 3 роки тому +1

    Not related but I really love her sweater

  • @TheDeepDiveLLC
    @TheDeepDiveLLC 4 роки тому +1

    Their bodies didn't fuse, but their souls fused... Marriage...

  • @neozeus2222
    @neozeus2222 4 роки тому +30

    As a programmer its cool to see A* in nature lmao

    • @liweicai2796
      @liweicai2796 4 роки тому +6

      It's just parallel BFS. Slime mold certainly doesn't have sense of heuristic function.

    • @pilotavery
      @pilotavery 4 роки тому +3

      True, although A* was supposed to solve the same problem, but more efficiently and with more information...

    • @garryiglesias4074
      @garryiglesias4074 4 роки тому +1

      @Liwei Cai - I'm pretty sure that you can do a biological model of the mould and abstract its senses AS heuristic functions...

    • @garryiglesias4074
      @garryiglesias4074 4 роки тому

      And ? It's not flatly branching like a flood fill... It refines its shape... Avoids certain stuff..
      It's must be chemical "HEURISTIC".. But it is...
      No I'm not stupid, are you ? Because calling name makes me feel that YOU ARE.

  • @tarushsingh495
    @tarushsingh495 Рік тому

    Amazing

  • @hanshansen1140
    @hanshansen1140 2 роки тому

    I love it!

  • @AlexFoobar104
    @AlexFoobar104 4 роки тому +2

    this is basically bfs pathfinding. that's awesome

  • @_bad_wizard_
    @_bad_wizard_ 4 роки тому +3

    It looks like the clearish stuff the squirts out of the mustard bottle first
    *mustard precum*

  • @adeshmishra6090
    @adeshmishra6090 2 роки тому +2

    Why it gives me a feeling of venom?

  • @nickbrown6740
    @nickbrown6740 2 роки тому

    Definitely check out Veysarum VNFT

  • @andyedwards9011
    @andyedwards9011 4 роки тому +2

    Quaker oats!
    Uhoh, I think I'm a slime mold

  • @prates40
    @prates40 4 роки тому +4

    Tem tradução em português?
    Muito interessante
    Se em português enviar para acadêmicos

  • @alien5589
    @alien5589 3 роки тому

    Can’t wait till people figure out how to run doom on this slime mold

  • @ashwinbhargava3011
    @ashwinbhargava3011 2 роки тому +2

    So basically it uses bruteforce.

  • @lovehilaryanne
    @lovehilaryanne Рік тому

    When I watch stuff like this I think about the people who think we need to go to outer space to find "aliens". We have deep seas, we have slime molds, we have a lot of things we don't understand still

  • @randomchannel-bt9yr
    @randomchannel-bt9yr 4 роки тому

    So if we put one of these things in the glade and it moved as fast as it did on fast forward , the maze runner would be ruined? Well considering there was food at the exit of the maze , cause it contracts to the fastest route after exploring the whole maze

  • @potmki6601
    @potmki6601 4 роки тому

    Let's name all new found organisms after memes

  • @benjaminforpresident9402
    @benjaminforpresident9402 2 роки тому +2

    The slime is the way the gods communicate with us

  • @GuentherVanRaven
    @GuentherVanRaven 4 роки тому

    Can it do the washing-up?

  • @FingeringThings
    @FingeringThings 4 роки тому +1

    So what your saying is a blob of slime solves puzzles better than me