Introduction

Toward a
Radical Mycology

Humankind has not woven the web of life. We are but one thread within it. Whatever we
do to the web, we do to ourselves. All things are bound together. All things connect.
—Chief Seattle, 1854

A ll life is interconnected. This is the primary lesson that fungi teach. Through their mycelial
networks—those decentralized webs of white tissue often found beneath logs and rocks—
mushrooms and other fungi permeate the world, connecting and turning its innumerable
cycles to demonstrate that every act carries an immeasurable chain of effects. Possessing traits and
abilities not found amongst plants, animals, or other microbes, fungi fill unique roles in the stew-
ardship and evolution of Earth. And as builders of the soil web and grand healers of the land and
sea, they lie at the heart of the world and offer a perspective that cannot be equated.
Through the mycelial lens, the haste of modern human life slows, exposing Nature’s most re-
fined principles, which our ancestors understood so well. When one offers the fungi time for study,
even their smallest moments expose lessons on how to embody these principles, and thereby find
new means for respecting and connecting with the natural world. Along with these insights, the
benefits of integrating fungal cultivation into daily life can enhance the design of one’s home and
town in ways that are more supportive of the culture and environment at large. To those able to see
them clearly, the fungi offer these and many other vital gifts.
Working with fungi is not a new chapter in the human story, but an ancient relationship woven
into our foods, medicines, and customs. They are the world’s greatest and oldest teachers, timelessly
spawning a wisdom that can just as readily uplift habitats as unite a community. Many of their
solutions are practical; others are philosophical. But considering the youth of mycology, all of their
offerings present an untold potential for enhancing the health and resilience of any living system.

Introduction: Toward a Radical Mycology xv

 A Neglected Megascience
Two facts become quickly apparent for anyone studying mycology: 1) fungi are incredibly important
and fascinating and 2) nobody knows about number 1. For no clear reason, fungi have been largely
dismissed amongst Westerners—a mere oddity to be feared and forgotten. Whereas plant growth
and the concept of “germs” and bacteria are taught to children at a young age, mycology is essen-
tially absent from grades K–12 and above. Even at the graduate level, when fungi are presented in
natural science courses it is often with a cursory assessment that emphasizes their misunderstood
actions as “pathogens.” With minimal representation in the media, this mycological knowledge
gap tends to remain in place outside of one’s schooling, leaving many Westerners uninformed and
unaware1 of the untold potential that mycology offers. Thus, as those in the West never hear, learn,
think, or talk about fungi, these organisms become increasingly easy to ignore and buried beneath
layers of maligned mystery.
In the academic world, this problem is almost worse. Paradoxically, fungi are recognized for
their ubiquity and importance amongst biologists, and yet mycology has remained a “neglected
megascience”2 throughout its short, 250-year history. Whereas most university departments are
under constant threat of budget cuts, the small and scarce mycology departments in Western uni-
versities face closure and a subsequent end in the transmission of local mycological knowledge.
While it is notable that countries such as China, Mexico, and Brazil are contributing a significant
amount of contemporary research into mycology, the majority of living and dried fungal reference
collections, monographs, reference books, and key databases are still found among the declining
mycological institutions of North America and Europe. In effect, the higher levels of mycological
information remain tenuously locked in expensive textbooks and scattered classrooms, inaccessible
to the vast majority of the world.
Where university departments do remain open, traditional whole-organism mycology has
largely fallen by the wayside in the advent of genetic analysis. As research increasingly focuses
on deciphering code on a computer, the tangible ecological roles of fungi, along with their field
identification, loses further visibility amongst academics. Such a trend threatens many other natu-
ralist-dependent subjects, including mammalogy, ornithology, ichthyology, herpetology, entomol-
ogy, bryology, and taxonomy of vascular plants. But though these fields hold many unanswered
questions, the poverty in mycology relative to its potential importance suggests that it is one of
the biggest information gaps—if not the biggest—in the natural sciences. So as the field shrinks
and elder top-level mycologists retire, the future of their knowledge and resources—and Western
mycology as whole—becomes increasingly insecure and at risk of ending before it has truly begun.

The Smallest Spore

Looking at many trends in the sciences, it is clear that the decreased emphasis on whole-organism
research in mycology and other fields is not simply an effect of advances in technology, but of
underlying assumptions that permeate the scientific community and Western culture in general.
Compared to the interdisciplinary approach that fueled the research of many of history’s great sci-
entists, today the sciences are increasingly fragmented and largely unfamiliar with the finer details
of each other’s work. Many researchers in universities are so specialized within a tiny subset of
their overarching department that it is difficult for them to be well-versed in the intricacies of other
research projects in their department, let alone other departments, universities, or the scientific
community at large.
This splintering has not been intentional amongst scientists, but has come about as the result of
the reductionist scientific model, which attempts to understand the world by analyzing its smallest
parts. Though this model has arguably created an efficient, assembly line style approach to gath-
ering information, it has largely left behind the importance of connecting the dots that each field
uncovers. In effect, reductionism is a double-edged sword, with greater knowledge accumulating
on one side and incoherence spreading across the other.
As this trend proceeds, those uneducated in the sciences are left with few resources to easily

xvi Radical Mycology

validate a given field’s latest finding or to determine if it is considerate of the multiple other sci-
ences and natural phenomena it may influence or be influenced by. This double-checking amongst
citizen scientists is needed, for if a given conclusion is not holistic in its analysis, it may be used
to justify public and private policies with unforeseen and potentially detrimental effects. And yet,
such validation efforts are demanding as a thorough investigation of a given subject implies sort-
ing through a large amount of scientific literature written in inaccessible language and contained
within expensive journals and databases. With little time to interpret and integrate this data—let
alone develop a rigorous interdisciplinary review—the average person becomes more inclined to
leave its analysis to the experts.
Even amongst top-level researchers, problems can be created due to the reductionist meth-
od. The splintering of knowledge often creates nuanced, field-biased perspectives that can lead
to conflicting interpretations of data sets, common phenomena, or the larger meta-systems that
govern the details researchers pick apart. Such discrepancies may remain unresolved for years,
even amongst experts in the same field. This is especially common when new findings contradict
longstanding models. In many instances, scientists well-versed in an accepted theory will reject a
radically new paradigm­—regardless of its logical or empirical validity—simply because the new
model goes against what has long been taught.
In effect, the whole of science moves forward slowly, often at the rate at which one generation
replaces the last one and updates the textbooks. In the interim, challenging research is unable to
gain a seat at the theoretical bargaining table, leaving the uninformed non-scientific community
to model their worldview with potentially outdated paradigms. In the globalized culture afforded
by the internet, this continuity is further reinforced by the coverage and acceptance that some
theories obtain, regardless of their lack of rigor or potential long-term impacts on the health of a
people or the planet.

Where to Look?
The cultural effects of such a narrow perspective are many. By presenting the world as a collage
of fragmented subjects, the connections between ideas, humans, and the environment become
increasingly difficult to perceive. Reductionism creates an unnatural separation effect in the mind
in which objects and topics that are inextricable from one another in the real world can be intel-
lectually split apart. In the sciences, this enables humans to act as though they are separated from
Nature by attempting to study it from the outside. For the culture at large, reductionism can justify
actions that imply human superiority over the rest of the world, an anthropocentrism in which
exploitation of the environment can be interpreted as a necessary act.
Over time, the heavy-handed voice of reductionism comes to drown out traditional perspec-
tives, customs, and cultures. While at the same time, the fast tracking of social, environmental, and
economic models codified by science increases the potential for flawed theories to slip through the
cracks of intellectual filters. Though some of these new models may come from well-intentioned
scientists and policy makers, others may be devised by commercial ventures seeking to replace the
fading customs with an imposed culture based on consumerism and the unsustainable extraction
of natural resources. Such imposed cultures tend to reinforce the reductionist mindset that enables
them to flourish, often with an increased dependence on technologies that reduce necessity for
the direct transmission of knowledge or other real world interactions. In the end, an unnatural
framework is built into the mind of humanity, one in which the universe can be seen as a machine,
forests can be replaced with monocultures of chemical-dependent crops, and fungi can be rejected
for a lack of any apparent value.
When a culture becomes fragmented, the potential develops for its structure to be reinter-
preted and its pieces repositioned. Such redefining of society occurred when cultural theorists
and global oligarchs used Herbert Spencer’s (1820–1903) interpretation of Darwin’s evolutionary
model to describe society as nothing more than a struggle for the “survival of the fittest.” Through
the reductionist mindset, this interpretation was used to justify the segregation and separation
of people from each other as well as through imposed degrees of rank. The resulting concept of

Introduction: Toward a Radical Mycology xvii

 “social Darwinism” was later used as a scientific justification for class divisions, anthropocentrism,
hierarchical governmental structures, and the rise of neoliberal free market economics in which
only the strongest survive.
Such unnatural human-designed models quickly lose validity through a study of the ecologi-
cal roles of fungi. Just as anarchist philosopher Peter Kropotkin (1842–1921) pointed out nearly a
century ago, the concept that life is a constant fight for the next rung in the evolutionary ladder is
contradictory to the everyday experience of Nature. Communication and collaboration amongst
animals, plants, and microbes is vital to the health of each individual as well as to the entire ecosys-
tem on which they all depend. As the natural world’s grand connectors, mycelial networks exemplify
this universal principle of mutual aid. They act as a clear model for connecting communities and
ideas to help reverse the problems of reductionism. For though reductionism provides valuable and
unique means for measuring the world, it is, like all belief systems, inherently lined with limitations,
unexamined assumptions, and design flaws. To complement its benefits, reductionist frameworks
must be balanced by the insights provided by alternative modes of learning.
This is no small order. Acceptance of the reductionist model has become so fundamental to
modernity that its vast influence is largely invisible—a form of conditioning that hides in plain
sight. Indeed, to even question its infallibility is likely to receive mockery and condemnation from
people within and outside of the scientific community. But to hold close to reductionism—or any
belief system—automatically precludes the ability to consider opposing views. And as one be-
comes increasingly affirmed in a singular mode of thinking, they also tend to become decreasingly
tolerant of alternative perspectives, an inverse relationship that is inherently self-limiting to one’s
intellectual freedom.
When we confront the foundations of our systems of learning and challenge the assumptions
that underlie the design of culture, new opportunities for engagement between people and their
environment are found waiting. Windows into the world’s unlimited potential open, revealing that
mediation of experience is untenable and the only limiting factor to innovation is creativity. Indeed,
experimentation is always needed to find better alternatives. Without risk-taking, we’ll never discover
what’s possible. Just as any historian of science knows, major advances in science are not made in small
steps, but by leaps and bounds that are largely guided by intuition, chance, and a willingness to chal-
lenge dogmas. Often, these shifts come about by curious hobbyists. As Aristotle once stated, “It is the
mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.” Or, in other words,
one should be both skeptical and open-minded—just not so open-minded that their brain falls out.
Just as many of history’s greatest civilizations have likely thought of themselves as the pinnacle
of existence only to later collapse,3 so too must the superiority of reductionism as an epistemological
model be amended, lest it topple under the weight of its own assumptions. Ultimately, there are
many facets of the universe that humans cannot measure, have no conception of, and will never
understand, a fact that questions the very notion that one can truly come to know anything. The
willingness to be humble in the face of such mystery is perhaps the greatest challenge in the sci-
entific community, where many suffer under what cosmologist Hermann Bondi referred to as the
“lure of completeness”: a craving for certainty that leads to irrational and blind dogmatism.4 Such
shortcomings must be overcome by all who wish to develop new cultural paradigms that recognize,
honor, and integrate the patterns and principles of Nature—laws of the universe that fungi express
completely. This is not always an easy process but, as when overcoming any challenge, often results
in many unforeseen and far-reaching positive effects.

Mycology for the New Millennium

In the field of mycology, this open-mindedness is crucial. As one of the youngest natural sciences,
discoveries are constantly being made about fungi that dispute long-held beliefs. As this science
continues to develop over the coming decades, mycologists entering the field must recognize that
this limited understanding of fungi provides anyone with some degree of training the unique op-
portunity to significantly add to this growing knowledge base. Unlike most sciences, mycology is
one of the few fields that the citizen scientist can actively contribute to.

xviii Radical Mycology

 Over the last 50 years, the major interface between academic mycology and the general public
in North America has been through the devout efforts of amateur (from the Latin amare, “to love”)
mycological societies. During that time, these stewards of knowledge have significantly helped
maintain public interest in mycology amongst Westerners, while also spawning generations of com-
mitted field mycologists. Today, mycological societies are making concerted efforts to document
the ecology and distribution of macro fungi (mushrooms), a valuable form of citizen science that
almost anyone can support. But as these efforts heavily rely on the support of mycology depart-
ments in universities and botanical gardens, mycological societies also face a degree of insecurity
due to the tenuous state of their supporting institutions. And with few resources for learning about
fungi beyond mushroom identification readily available, many become disheartened to discover
that, apart from the information provided by these societies, there is no easy means for becoming
a mycologist—there is no royal road to mycology.
It is for this reason that the Radical Mycology project developed a decade ago: to create a
people’s mycological movement that is not only versed in the cultivation of fungi and the applica-
tions of mycology, but also in how to actively and significantly contribute to the advancement of
the science as a whole. Whereas humans have been cultivating plants and tending animals for at
least 10–12,000 years, mushroom cultivation only began around 2,000 years ago in China. Refined,
lab-based practices developed less than 100 years ago, and some of the advances in kitchen-based
cultivation described in Radical Mycology are less than a decade old. Further, these developments
in home mycology have made the science more accessible and less dependent on expensive and
centralized technology than ever before.
With such an exponential growth in our ability to work with fungi, it is impossible to imagine
where this field is heading. To keep such potential inaccessible—or worse yet, to limit the variety
of perspectives with which to view fungi—is an imposed cultural limit that stifles the health of
current and future generations. Just as when electricity was first discovered and no models existed
to explain its novel phenomena, so too will the mycologists of today be central in the creation of
unprecedented paradigms for not only understanding fungi, but also the individuals, ecosystems,
and life cycles that fungi sustain.
Along with various practical skills, the Radical Mycology perspective presents means to thor-
oughly integrate the habits of fungi into one’s way of being. Fungi challenge us to look beneath the
surface, live on the edge, explore the unknown, adapt, respect imperfections and differences, and
to always look for another way forward. Through the mycelial lens, one can regain the ability to see
the world as a whole derived from various influences and perspectives—different branches in the
network assessing hidden bonds. As one learns to see innumerable connections in the world, the
tools for addressing complex challenges can no longer be placed in isolation, just as perspectives
of seemingly opposing forces can be found to complement one another, especially when both seek
remedy in the world.
Radical Mycology is thus a mycocentric approach to building the three major pillars of social
change: education and awareness building around important issues; resisting, slowing, and stopping
ineffective or disastrous social systems; and designing functional and appropriate alternative sys-
tems that increase quality of life. Through enacting these facets, Radical Mycologists stand as a voice
for the Earth and for the fungi. Such acts help reduce the disempowering guilt that can come from
participating in Western culture’s luxuries. Instead, Radical Mycologists spread the mycopsychology
of living devoted to and bonded with Nature in a way that is affirming, intelligently self-guided, and
resilient against unforeseen and inevitable change. This must be an intentional act, however. For
though the fungi can show us how to grow, they cannot change the false paradigms that have steered
humanity off course. Only humans can make those changes, and often only with significant effort.
Radical Mycology is therefore a solutions-based approach to tackling these challenges through
a framework that is ethical, pragmatic, technical, cultural, and philosophical. By creating greater
Prefigurative politics: Modes of
access to mycology and, to various degrees, the other sciences that mycology intersects, this text is organization and social rela-
intended to support individuals, families, communities, and social movements that actively seek tionships that strive to reflect
a higher quality of life through prefigurative politics. To advance any social movement, an under- the future society being sought
by the group.
standing of the various sciences that influence daily activities must be understood. As one of the

Introduction: Toward a Radical Mycology xix

 most overlooked tools in the change-maker hardware store, mycology stands as one of the last
uniting factors in the design of better living and social systems—a spore whose time has come.

Radical Mycologists Without Borders

Though the information in this book can be applied in a variety of ways, one of the most historically
inaccessible skills presented is the means to cultivate fungi year-round on nearly any urban or agri-
cultural waste. Fungal cultivation leads to improved management of finite resources, the production
of whole foods and high quality natural medicines, greater support for local food movements and
economies, job training and employment opportunities for low-income youth and urban residents,
means to transform vacant tracts into productive spaces, and the ability to reduce the effects of
pollution in contaminated sites. Cultivation also reinvigorates the historical connections to food
that humans once commonly shared through foraging and tending crops. In effect, local mushroom
cultivation systems reduce dependence on imports and the normally high cost of mushrooms, while
also producing wealth, diversity, means for exchange, and the preservation of memory.
When Radical Mycologists work together to form groups, they can share these skills with
various facets of their community and enhance the overall resilience of the local culture. Mycology
is a uniting science, one that I am constantly surprised to find draws people from all backgrounds
together. By working with strangers, neighbors, friends, and symbiotic organizations, Radical My-
cologists can use their knowledge to not only increase food supplies or reduce pollution, but they
can build new intersections in their community—new mycelial webs—that string together once-dis-
tanced people across a town, bioregion, or planet.
Through these connections, greater efforts can build within the community to appropriately
apply mycology to mitigate pollution in the environment and regenerate damaged habitats in both
rural and urban spaces—burgeoning applications of fungal cultivation that need to be refined
by grassroots organizations. Such projects, along with educational workshops and forays, enable
Radical Mycology groups to raise awareness around the importance of fungi as well as to place that
knowledge in a context that is relatable, tangible, and overall effective in creating positive change.
To spread these benefits most effectively, Radical Mycologists must determine where their skills
are most needed. This requires the ability to first identify the challenges that face present and future
generations and to address them in a manner that is critical and honest, as well as constructive
and inspiring. Once a problem has been articulated and its terms defined, resources and skills can
be drawn together to create viable alternatives and solutions. Undoubtedly mistakes will be made
along the way, but by trying new models and learning-by-doing, one may discover solutions hiding
where they were least expected.
Radical Mycologists of today stand on the shoulders of innumerable mycological giants, graced
with the inheritance of knowledge gathered over the last few centuries and the duty to protect,
honor, and build upon this fragile science. Fungi act as central agents in all cycles of life, and it is
time that they begin to form a central role in all aspects of human life. As this knowledge and need
ripples out, I envision teams of Radical Mycologists Without Borders travelling the globe, sharing
their skills and discovering new means of working with fungi. Where one Radical Mycologist trains
ten, those ten can train a hundred, and from them, a thousand—so it is that the mycelium spreads.
Thus, from this humble position on the edge of the unknown, let us now dive into the world
of fungi to find that it is not a complex puzzle that can or will ever be entirely solved, but rather a
place of rich complexity waiting to be experienced, explored, and embraced.

xx Radical Mycology