Learning about Stamets and reading his books opened up a whole new appreciation of nature for me. Starting with learning how to identify wild edible mushrooms, you then have to learn about different types of trees, seasonal patterns, weather, etc. It’s a great hobby that helps you learn about the interconnectedness of everything in nature while benefitting from delicious and healthy treats along the way. One of the most fun memories of this last year was stumbling across a patch of morels in the spring (one of the rarest and most delicious mushrooms that can only be found in the wild for a few weeks in early spring). I’ve even started making some of the extracts described in this article at home (tinctures of reishi, chaga, and lion’s mane) and enjoy sharing them with friends and family.
If you don't have it already his book "Growing Gourmet and Medicinal Mushrooms" is an indispensable guide for growing many species of mushrooms, including morels, at any scale. Coincidentally, it contains his observation of bees sucking on King Stropharia mycelium before the insight they might be doing it to self medicate.
Stamets is a fascinating & passionate guy, but it's worth remembering that he makes a lot of claims that aren't necessarily backed up by research (Stamets himself has only a bachelor's degree).
And some of his claims are just plain pseudoscience, i.e. his claims on the Joe Rogan Show about "entering the multiverse" via psilocybin, the Stoned Ape theory, etc.
I can't speak for Stamets, but I wouldn't disqualify someone as an authority in a field due to lack of degree. For example, Agner Fog is an anthropologist who is also a frequently cited authority on x86 instruction timing and optimization.
Many of his claims for medicinal and environmental use of fungi are backed by independent research. Talking about some "out there" ideas doesnt disqualify everything somebody says.
I feel like I have to take this reminder to reddit on a regular basis. The job of an evangelist isn't necessarily to get it right, but to get people excited. Stamets does that, but I wouldn't rely on him as a source for any scientific research or information.
None of the bees on his website are honey bees interestingly enough. If he can develop a additive to feed the bees before winter that specifically targets varroa, I'd be interested in trying it out. There are plenty of treatment options out there, and some are even natural. His bee feeder is clearly not designed by someone who keeps bees though. Open feeding like that can cause the spread of varroa.
The name rung a bell, and I realized Michael Pollan also visited Stamets for his recent book 'How to Change Your Mind'. Pollan also recites the same anecdote of Stamets's climbing a tree while tripping on psilocybin and getting caught in a lightning storm. I suppose the man, even if questionably credentialed, has sufficient cachet among the mycological community to make him an almost required stop on any survey of the subject.
[+] [-] seabj0rn|5 years ago|reply
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[+] [-] mr_overalls|5 years ago|reply
https://www.jncas.org/doi/full/10.7572/2167-5880-130.1.16
And some of his claims are just plain pseudoscience, i.e. his claims on the Joe Rogan Show about "entering the multiverse" via psilocybin, the Stoned Ape theory, etc.
https://psychedelictimes.com/paul-stamets-psilocybin-stories...
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Fungi can also be very, very bad. I remember some nightmare diseases, when I lived in Africa.