《A Short History of Nearly Everything》第120章

even　something　as　important　and　ubiquitous　as　fungi—and　fungi　are　both—attractsparatively　little　notice。　fungi　are　everywhere　and　e　in　many　forms—as　mushrooms；molds；　mildews；　yeasts；　and　puffballs；　to　name　but　a　sampling—and　they　exist　in　volumesthat　most　of　us　little　suspect。　gather　together　all　the　fungi　found　in　a　typical　acre　of　meadowand　you　would　have　2；500　pounds　of　the　stuff。　these　are　not　marginal　organisms。　withoutfungi　there　would　be　no　potato　blights；　dutch　elm　disease；　jock　itch；　or　athlete’s　foot；　but　alsono　yogurts　or　beers　or　cheeses。　altogether　about　70；000　species　of　fungi　have　been　identified；but　it　is　thought　the　number　could　be　as　high　as　1。8　million。　a　lot　of　mycologists　work　inindustry；　making　cheeses　and　yogurts　and　the　like；　so　it　is　hard　to　say　how　many　are　activelyinvolved　in　research；　but　we　can　safely　take　it　that　there　are　more　species　of　fungi　to　be　foundthan　there　are　people　to　find　them。
the　world　is　a　really　big　place。we　have　been　gulled　by　the　ease　of　air　travel　and　otherforms　of　munication　into　thinking　that　the　world　is　not　all　that　big；　but　at　ground　level；where　researchers　must　work；　it　is　actually　enormous—enormous　enough　to　be　full　ofsurprises。　the　okapi；　the　nearest　living　relative　of　the　giraffe；　is　now　known　to　exist　insubstantial　numbers　in　the　rain　forests　of　zaire—the　total　population　is　estimated　at　perhapsthirty　thousand—yet　its　existence　wasn’t　even　suspected　until　the　twentieth　century。　the　largeflightless　new　zealand　bird　called　the　takahe　had　been　presumed　extinct　for　two　hundredyears　before　being　found　living　in　a　rugged　area　of　the　country’s　south　island。　in　1995　a　teamof　french　and　british　scientists　in　tibet；　who　were　lost　in　a　snowstorm　in　a　remote　valley；came　across　a　breed　of　horse；　called　the　riwoche；　that　had　previously　been　known　only　fromprehistoric　cave　drawings。　the　valley’s　inhabitants　were　astonished　to　learn　that　the　horse　wasconsidered　a　rarity　in　the　wider　world。
some people think even greater surprises　may　await　us。　“a　leading　british　ethno…biologist；”　wrote　the　economist　in　1995；　“thinks　a　megatherium；　a　sort　of　giant　ground　slothwhich　may　stand　as　high　as　a　giraffe　。　。　。　may　lurk　in　the　fastnesses　of　the　amazon　basin。”
perhaps　significantly；　the　ethnobiologist　wasn’t　named；　perhaps　even　more　significantly；nothing　more　has　been　heard　of　him　or　his　giant　sloth。　no　one；　however；　can　categorically　saythat　no　such　thing　is　there　until　every　jungly　glade　has　been　investigated；　and　we　are　a　longway　from　achieving　that。
but　even　if　we　groomed　thousands　of　fieldworkers　and　dispatched　them　to　the　farthestcorners　of　the　world；　it　would　not　be　effort　enough；　for　wherever　life　can　be；　it　is。　life’sextraordinary　fecundity　is　amazing；　even　gratifying；　but　also　problematic。　to　survey　it　all；　youwould　have　to　turn　over　every　rock；　sift　through　the　litter　on　every　forest　floor；　sieveunimaginable　quantities　of　sand　and　dirt；　climb　into　every　forest　canopy；　and　devise　muchmore　efficient　ways　to　examine　the　seas。　even　then　you　would　overlook　whole　ecosystems。　inthe　1980s；　spelunkers　entered　a　deep　cave　in　romania　that　had　been　sealed　off　from　theoutside　world　for　a　long　but　unknown　period　and　found　thirty…three　species　of　insects　andother　small　creatures—spiders；　centipedes；　lice—all　blind；　colorless；　and　new　to　science。
they　were　living　off　the　microbes　in　the　surface　scum　of　pools；　which　in　turn　were　feeding　onhydrogen　sulfide　from　hot　springs。
our　instinct　may　be　to　see　the　impossibility　of　tracking　everything　down　as　frustrating；dispiriting；　perhaps　even　appalling；　but　it　can　just　as　well　be　viewed　as　almost　unbearablyexciting。　we　live　on　a　planet　that　has　a　more　or　less　infinite　capacity　to　surprise。　whatreasoning　person　could　possibly　want　it　any　other　way？
what　is　nearly　always　most　arresting　in　any　ramble　through　the　scattered　disciplines　ofmodern　science　is　realizing　how　many　people　have　been　willing　to　devote　lifetimes　to　themost　sumptuously　esoteric　lines　of　inquiry。　in　one　of　his　essays；　stephen　jay　gould　notes　howa　hero　of　his　named　henry　edward　crampton　spent　fifty　years；　from　1906　to　his　death　in1956；　quietly　studying　a　genus　of　land　snails　in　polynesia　called　partula。　over　and　over；　yearafter　year；　crampton　measured　to　the　tiniest　degree—to　eight　decimal　places—the　whorls　andarcs　and　gentle　curves　of　numberless　partula；　piling　the　results　into　fastidiously　detailedtables。　a　single　line　of　text　in　a　crampton　table　could　represent　weeks　of　measurement　andcalculation。
only　slightly　less　devoted；　and　certainly　more　unexpected；　was　alfred　c。　kinsey；　whobecame　famous　for　his　studies　of　human　sexuality　in　the　1940s　and　1950s。　but　before　hismind　became　filled　with　sex；　so　to　speak；　kinsey　was　an　entomologist；　and　a　dogged　one　atthat。　in　one　expedition　lasting　two　years；　he　hiked　2；500　miles　to　assemble　a　collection　of300；000　wasps。　how　many　stings　he　collected　along　the　way　is　not；　alas；　recorded。
something　that　had　been　puzzling　me　was　the　question　of　how　you　assured　a　chain　ofsuccession　in　these　arcane　fields。　clearly　there　cannot　be　many　institutions　in　the　world　thatrequire　or　are　prepared　to　support　specialists　in　barnacles　or　pacific　snails。　as　we　parted　at　thenatural　history　museum　in　london；　i　asked　richard　fortey　how　science　ensures　that　whenone　person　goes　there’s　someone　ready　to　take　his　place。
he　chuckled　rather　heartily　at　my　naiveté。　“i’m　afraid　it’s　not　as　if　we　have　substitutessitting　on　the　bench　somewhere　waiting　to　be　called　in　to　play。　when　a　specialist　retires　or；even　more　unfortunately；　dies；　that　can　bring　a　stop　to　things　in　that　field；　sometimes　for　avery　long　while。”
“and　i　suppose　that’s　why　you　value　someone　who　spends　forty…two　years　studying　asingle　species　of　plant；　even　if　it　doesn’t　produce　anything　terribly　new？”
“precisely；”　he　said；　“precisely。”　and　he　really　seemed　to　mean　it。
。。。！
24CELLS
^生。网！
it　starts　with　a　single　cell。　the　first　cell　splits　to　bee　two　and　the　two　bee　fourand　so　on。　after　just　forty…seven　doublings；　you　have　ten　thousand　trillion（10；000；000；000；000；000）　cells　in　your　body　and　are　ready　to　spring　forth　as　a　huma