Originally published at: "The Last of Us" irresponsibly promotes a fear of mushrooms | Boing Boing
…
2 Likes
He seems like a fun guy.
28 Likes
11 Likes
Stamets is a bit of a weirdo, but of the lovable variety. They interviewed him for one of the Star Trek Discovery aftershows (a character on the show is named after him and is also a mycologist), and it was amusing to see his big scruffy beard on a screen three times size of the host’s head
14 Likes
Or another Dr. Robotnik.
3 Likes
Sure, but the ant controlled by fungus story is perhaps the scariest naturally occurring thing I can think of. Since I first heard of it as a kid it has been regularly popping up in my mind, and it gives me the shivers each time. No wonder it eventually became a movie plot.
19 Likes
Fixed that for you. But yeah i do think that calling the angle of mushrooms being able to change and control a human host as irresponsible a pretty big stretch. I found it a pretty fascinating idea when the game first came out, my feelings towards mushrooms and fungi hasn’t been altered for the worse and i doubt most people will suddenly live in fear of mushrooms
5 Likes
a.k.a When true-to-life documentaries get it horribly wrong. oh no. My favorite was the shark documentary in the 70s, Jaws.
4 Likes
Jaws had a similar effect on sharks. Made people fear them MUCH more than before the movie came out, but also prompted a lot of study.
2 Likes
Mushrooms themselves did a pretty good job of giving me a fear of them already 
Death Cap and Destroying Angel are just some fun varieties.
I’ll stick with the grocery store thanks.
15 Likes
First thing that comes to mind:
Gaiman had a nice take on it too, available in the “Preferred Text” edition of Neverwhere. (If you’re wondering, I couldn’t really tell the difference between the “Preferred Text” and the original - but eh, it’s worth rereading anyway.)
But Tumblr did it best, really.
8 Likes
Given how many of them will kill you, I’d say its a reasonable fear.
I am not a big fan of them. They are ok mixed into things. But I will leave it to the store bought ones.
1 Like
What about those worms that eat insects insides then puppet their exoskeletons about. Don’t forget about them!
13 Likes
I’ll never eat a mushroom that I find in the woods. But, I’ve been reading Entangled Life by Merlin Sheldrake lately and I’ve never been more fascinated by mushrooms (and I’ve always found them interesting).
2 Likes
Mushrooms are amazing, even the ones we can’t eat but yeah even if i could forage for mushrooms i would be terrified to pick up something that will kill me or make me incredibly ill
4 Likes
That’s exactly why I don’t forage for them. I’m pretty good at identifying things in the forest, but I’ve also got pretty bad luck. That’s not a good pairing.
6 Likes
I did a double-take, too. Totally questioned if it was a real post or AI tomfoolery. 
3 Likes
