400-Million-Year-Old Mystery: Giant Tree-like Object in Epoch Before Trees Existed

I am very excited that Paul Stamet has surfaced in these forums. At least, I have not seen another post containing a reference to him. Not to say there isn't any. I just have not personally seen it and albeit I'm not SO curious as to surf around and find one.

But I am glad it has happened and made it front page.

The situation at hand is a very important one, as the brain's functions have a direct and perceivable reaction to natural substance's stimuli (being that we have the receptors specifically for them) and the Psilocybin evocation is a very entrancing, profound and meaningful one... Clearly as all matter transcends and in the scheme of biological evolution organisms are built upon previous foundations... Then we can undertake the almost irrefutable fact that the experience and knowledge acquired from mushrooms is a most enlightening one. Just as some drugs stimulate us to have more energy, or to ignore our exhaustion, or to produce a higher level of concentration; Psilocybin produces deep understanding.

Great thread. S + F


Peace, and Love.

Should we treat mushrooms like a god?
It's just a way of overclocking our brains.
Do I treat my own PC CPU blower fans and any efficient BIOS settings as a god?

Brain itself should be our object of amazement, how it works and why it works the way it does, not a herb or fungus, or essence with an overclocking potential, neither the way of life such enhancements would introduce. Again we are looking at the tree and missing the entire forest.
Although I guess, if we found a way of excavating and extracting oil through the use of bio engineered fungus, through some kind of clever mycelium, reducing the costs of extraction and thus the price of oil, we would treat them like a god wouldn't we?
Giant mushrooms, that would eventually petrify in the right atmosphere,after some period of time, creating habitats out of nowhere, and terraforming abilities of vast fields of fungi..wait, scrap the part about missing the forest..we are missing the mushroom colony here.




[edit on 17-2-2010 by spacebot]

reply to post by Dock9

It reminds me of when you get a storm and seaweed sea foam etc are left at the high tide point on the beach I think that's what may have happened here with a raft of algae .If you look close at the structure it is thicker on the left leading edge where it built up and thinner on the right hand edge where it would have been sculpted by the water.




Mod Note: Excessive Quoting – Please Review This Link

[edit on Fri Feb 19 2010 by Jbird]

reply to post by Mr Headshot


It really does sound like remains of one of the Elder Things.

Between this and the Bloop a few years back I really wonder sometimes about the Mythos.

Originally posted by spacebot
reply to post by m khan

 

Indeed. Not the same gravity requirements but nature always chooses the path of less resistance. I do not see other fungi or trees or anything blocking the view of those "big fungus" and stealing their airborn food or whatever, hence no competition. No reason for them to be so tall. They just sit there by themselves, in an almost barren landscape, supposedly. Just taking space but they could do this, evolving horizontally couldn't they? Safer and more reliable. Else nature had gone crazy back then.

[edit on 17-2-2010 by spacebot]

Usually things with no predators tend to be bigger.

I remember watching that show, the Future is Wild, which postulated about the future long after we've passed on from the planet, where a scenario was based on turtles on an island where they had no predators. Based on how history has seen things change, fossil sizes, etc, these specific turtles became massive.

Obviously we will never know a: about giant turtles of the future, nor b: giant fungi from the past, but I would expect being free of any predator or threat, things would just get bigger.

No need to limit their growth one way or another. For all we know, there may have been pollen or something air-born that they fed on, which needed them to be a certain height.

So many possibilities.

reply to post by tarifa37


Good call on the algae being washed up on shore and slowly stacked and smushed together with waves. I had no idea what you were talking about until i realized what foam you were talking about, that browny, cappuccino like foam that washes ashore sometimes.

Im impressed by that idea, it makes the most sense.

either its towering mushrooms or your idea.

Originally posted by spacebot
Should we treat mushrooms like a god?
It's just a way of overclocking our brains.
Do I treat my own PC CPU blower fans and any efficient BIOS settings as a god?

Brain itself should be our object of amazement, how it works and why it works the way it does, not a herb or fungus, or essence with an overclocking potential, neither the way of life such enhancements would introduce. Again we are looking at the tree and missing the entire forest.
Although I guess, if we found a way of excavating and extracting oil through the use of bio engineered fungus, through some kind of clever mycelium, reducing the costs of extraction and thus the price of oil, we would treat them like a god wouldn't we?

Giant mushrooms, that would eventually petrify in the right atmosphere,after some period of time, creating habitats out of nowhere, and terraforming abilities of vast fields of fungi..wait, scrap the part about missing the forest..we are missing the mushroom colony here.

[edit on 17-2-2010 by spacebot]

Just to quickly answer your initial question; no. Should we treat mushrooms as an unabated primordial organism or entity? Yes. Why? Because it actually is. I don't even know if any argument will settle with you, but you have to understand that the brain is another structure which displays the same construct as the rest of the universe if you're looking at it in its' fractal reality. The network of neurons is as that of fungi which is as that of dark matter which, well... could be expected to be of a multi-verse. But, at least we have two, if not three, conjectures. The fact the brain has the receptors for the Psilocybin molecule is a testament that there is an unchallenged connection between us and the fungal world, which only requires a person to undertake the task of experiencing what's there to be learned.
The brain is a neural-transmitter of the same knowledge that the whole universe is built upon. The only difference is that it's attached to a body that often formulates an Ego which produces subjective analysis of an environment. To admire the brain in its' entirety one must simply admire the universe.

Peace, and Love.

Structural, physiological, and stable carbon isotopic evidence that the enigmatic Paleozoic fossil Prototaxites formed from rolled liverwort mats1

www.amjbot.org...

From the link at bottom of the original article

This has more to do with the article's comment about how it doesn't make sense, nor does 20 foot algae.

But I'd like to disagree. 20 foot algae makes a lot of sense because it gives a greater area for photosynthesis to occur and increases the height of the algae in the water, and higher heights have more light. More light is good because it means more nutrients.

So I'd just like to point that out. I don't know much about fungi.

reply to post by predator0187


Awesome find. As we move on to future we learn more about past. What an amazing evolution ride this so full of mysteries and uncertainty.

Are you talking about magic mushrooms and/or fly agaric? Cos i've done my fair share of mushrooms and i do feel a lot me aware and alert in the long run. Sorry to ask i cant view the youtube video on my phone. As for the original thread post, very interesting .

reply to post by TechUnique


If it is me you are asking, yes I did refer to psylocibin (magic) mushrooms in a previous post. I also feel more aware and alert in the long run, as do many people after a psylocibin experience. It has even been scientifically proven that the beneficial effects of the experience last much longer than just the initial "trip". Search YouTube for the news stories covering this.

And I agree with you 100%, this is a very interesting topic.

Also, if you get a chance to use a computer, you should take a look at those videos, you will find them very intriguing.

maybe their carbon dating is wrong, its not foolproof, i think they need to to back and test it again, either that, or everything we thought we knew was wrong and there was trees

reply to post by spacebot


"Indeed. Not the same gravity requirements but nature always chooses the path of less resistance. I do not see other fungi or trees or anything blocking the view of those "big fungus" and stealing their airborn food or whatever, hence no competition. No reason for them to be so tall. They just sit there by themselves, in an almost barren landscape, supposedly. Just taking space but they could do this, evolving horizontally couldn't they? Safer and more reliable. Else nature had gone crazy back then."

A popular theory in the 70's and 80's claim that pre-diviliuan earth had
two atmosheres, the lower heaven was like a tick cloud that insulated the entire earth. That this prevented aging and premoted the growth of plants not so dependant on the sun's light. All of this changed after the "flood" as the waters of the heavens fell to earth. And cholorphyll supportted biology began to take over... but we were allowed to field test the fungi then..hehe ..a 12 foot tall Pyotete button... wow .. thats a lot of "Silly simon"!

[edit on 17-2-2010 by jbmitch]

reply to post by Mayan_Soul


Interesting spin on the topic.
Large mushrooms make for good shelter.
A subconscious one.

Good choice for Avatar.

Anyone have the coordinates for the petrified 'plant'?
I'd like a better look: I'm busy but the Microkopter isn't. got GPS?
(not me)

[edit on 17-2-2010 by Perseus Apex]

Originally posted by ImperialMaj
Ok...He who is without sin can cast the first stone - but the earth/tree isn't even 400Million years old...and this fossil...could be any tree that was just washed over with flood water about 4400 years ago in the flood. This is bad science....lol

Another one... Decalares something to be "bad science" but you probably have no degree whatsover.Reminds me of Ann Coulter saying that evolutionary theory is bad science yet when she's asked what her theory is she says. "I don't have one, I'm not a scientist"... that's some funny sh*t.

back to the topic...

Very interesting stuff. Wouldn't surpirse me if the fossil is discovered to be some kind of Fungus. The largest known organism on the planet is a type of fungus....

Scientific American

good thread.S&F

reply to post by ImperialMaj


What are you even talking about? Your words don't make any sense.

its not a mystery because the fossils aren't 400 millions years old. carbon dating is known and proven to be flawed. you know how scientists come up with 400 millions years? they do it by circular reasoning which is FLAWED and NOT scientific AT ALL. so use a bit of logic, and hopefully you come to the conclusion that what you learned about dinosaurs and millions upon billions of years (the gap theory) in school is false. nowhere on earth does the geologic layer exist. never has, never will. its no more real than the tooth fairy.