Wood Wide Web

Sounds particularly weird? Good.

I solemnly swear, this is not another term I came up with unlike spaghetti cloud. It’s a real concept.

You must know of trees.

Yes, trees. Tall, green, bears fruits and flowers, itching tool for bears, the same thing.

What have we learned about trees in school? Provides shade, birds and bees build their nest on it, gives us oxygen, leaves do photosynthesis, xylem and phloem, growth rings, and so on.

Basic.

You ever wondered what’s beneath all that tall brooding personality other than the roots?

Hyphae.

I learned this random fact about how trees communicate underneath via thread-like fungi called hyphae and they share nutrients, support weaker plants, warn other trees of impending doom, and wild things as such.

This system, they call it the Wood Wide Web.

For a moment, I thought, “Hey, that’s kinda nice,” and then I thought “You know what it reminds me of? You know how you see the success. You may even see 2 or 3 people credited for the success. But what of those hundreds or thousands of people that contributed in leading to the success?”

In this context, let’s say, Trees = Caped Heroes Hyphae = Unsung Heroes

A movie doesn’t become a blockbuster because of one good actor. A product doesn’t become perfectly functional because of one good maker. A book doesn’t become a bestseller because of one good author.

Each culmination has a vast set of culminators. Each of them had done something that led to the success. Small actions, larger consequences. This is more commonly known as the Butterfly Effect.

Usually, the butterfly effect is considered for negative contexts. Why not use it for a positive one?

One butterfly flapped its wing at the right place and right time and 3 years later, a company reached its billion dollar valuation.

One butterfly flapped its wing at another right place and time and 4 months later, someone else reached the Everest peak.

One butterfly can change the trajectory with one perfect flap.

And the hard truth, we’re all butterflies.

Our flaps may or may not have had a positive impact and we’ll never know. But that’s a mystery meant to remain a mystery.

So this blog is for all those hero hyphae that contributed to a larger win.

Flapping away, A smol butterfly (-;