Joshua Sokol writes about Namibia's fairy circles in The Atlantic

May 24, 2018 12:02 PM

The patches are Namibia’s enigmatic fairy circles, and for decades they have drawn visitors, including our convoy, into the desert. In recent years, Jürgens and other researchers have argued bitterly over the how and why of fairy circles, disagreeing over data and theory in person and across the pages of the world’s preeminent journals. This is more than an academic dispute over a tourist attraction, however. Fairy circles are a test case in the emerging field of biological-pattern analysis, where they may offer an encrypted message about the future of desert ecosystems—and the humans who hope to survive in them.
posted by bq (4 comments total)

Fascinating. Thanks!
posted by clawsoon at 2:48 PM on May 24, 2018

An interview with Corina Tarnita about her math+biology contribution.
posted by clawsoon at 2:54 PM on May 24, 2018 [1 favorite]

I didn't even know fairy circles could refer to anything besides the rings formed by some mushrooms. This was an interesting read, got a bit sad near the end, but that's inevitable with nature stories these days.
posted by GoblinHoney at 3:39 PM on May 24, 2018 [1 favorite]

First quick misreading of title: "fairy circles in the Atlantic" Shouldn't they be Mermaid Circles?
posted by mermayd at 1:51 PM on May 25, 2018