I Survived the “Destroying Angel” (2006) • Hacker News Board

Re: I Survived the “Destroying Angel” (2006)

#141

Post by divbyzer0 » Fri, Oct 18, 2019, 10:02 AM UTC

justanotherjoe wrote: post #105

Enginerrrd wrote: post #90

Earlier quoted context omitted.

To be fair, I've watched a lot of people on the brink of death. (I was a paramedic for a time.) You could often tell the ones that would die despite very similar presentation to one's that would live. The difference was the ones that would live had fight in their eyes. You see that too with folks waiting for a loved one to get there before they die. They can push it back for hours or even days if they've got the figh…

Do you have anything i can read on the rescue stuff? This all might come in handy for when I'm dying one day.

May not be the same thing, but afterdrop is an issue with rescued drowning victims which can lead to Circum-Rescue Collapse which can lead to cardiac arrest.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afterdrop

I'm not sure if there is consensus on this but the adivce I was given for rescue scenarios is to keep the patient tense. Raising voice at them, increasing stress, telling them they are still in danger and need to keep fighting.

Re: I Survived the “Destroying Angel” (2006)

#142

Post by tobltobs » Fri, Oct 18, 2019, 10:04 AM UTC

ridaj wrote: post #64

In France, you can bring your wild mushrooms to any local pharmacy, and they will ID them for you as a free service. Seems like it would be a useful service to US foragers too!

In Switzerland this service is offered by the commune or canton. http://www.vapko.ch

Re: I Survived the “Destroying Angel” (2006)

#143

Post by marvin » Fri, Oct 18, 2019, 10:25 AM UTC

tsimionescu wrote: post #80

nlh wrote: post #76

Can someone give me a quick explainer on why it’s appealing to pick & eat ANY mushrooms in the wild at all? I’m probably just a dumb “city kid”, but I don’t see the appeal whatsoever. I’d love to get some perspective on why folks enjoy this.

As a city kid who likes doing this, there are two aspects for me. One is simply the game of going through the forest and carefully scanning the ground, looking at bunches of leaves - is that just leaves? Or a young mushroom just coming out? Then, when you do find a mushroom, checking if it's firm and good to eat, enjoying the alien aspect of the thing etc. The other aspect is the wonderful taste of these. In my count…

Morels are absolutely scrumptious. My partner and I buy them dried for $20 a meal in France, but it would be cool to be able to pick then in the woods :)

Re: I Survived the “Destroying Angel” (2006)

#144

Post by lovemenot » Fri, Oct 18, 2019, 10:25 AM UTC

Simon_says wrote: post #119

hinkley wrote: post #98

Earlier quoted context omitted.

He doesn't even seem that mollified to have done something stupid. Narcissist?

Probably just a regular idiot.

Yes. But I think it took a lot of humility to write that article, nevertheless. And willingness to acknowledge his own idiocy.

The act was foolish, but the self-reflection was brave.

Re: I Survived the “Destroying Angel” (2006)

#145

Post by Udik » Fri, Oct 18, 2019, 10:27 AM UTC

rkachowski wrote: post #117

The author seems to have an encyclopedic knowledge of the bible (referencing individual psalms by number), wears a cross around his neck to hospital, practises all kinds of eastern religious meditations (recommends "Awaken the Healing Light of the Tao" in the midst of describing himself in a diaper on a CAT scan machine). On top of this he works as a particle accelerator operator at cornell. And still eats some of th…

Although of course everyone can believe what they please, and I found myself in much sympathy with the narrator, in a couple of points I couldn't help thinking of a famous comedian's joke: "The doctors saved your life. But remember when you picked the wrong mushrooms? That was the act of God".

Re: I Survived the “Destroying Angel” (2006)

#146

Post by YeGoblynQueenne » Fri, Oct 18, 2019, 10:28 AM UTC

AlphaGeekZulu wrote: post #120

Mushroom foraging was common in my family and the ruleset was quite simple – we learnt this as children: - you have to know a mushroom, that you want to eat, by 100%. You not only have to know the appearance in all possible states (young/old, colour variations, environmental context) but also you have to know the lookalikes and how to differentiate. The point here is: NEVER follow any generic rules (like avoid mushro…

>> The point here is: NEVER follow any generic rules (like avoid mushrooms with this or that feature), but reliably identify the type you want to eat!

There's a famous machine learning dataset (cited by at least 50 papers) where the task is to identify mushrooms as "definitely poisonous", "edible" or "not recommended (for eating)":

https://archive.ics.uci.edu/ml/datasets/mushroom

The following passage I quote from the UCI repository's mirror of the data agrees with your rule:

This data set includes descriptions of hypothetical samples corresponding to 23 species of gilled mushrooms in the Agaricus and Lepiota Family (pp. 500-525). Each species is identified as definitely edible, definitely poisonous, or of unknown edibility and not recommended. This latter class was combined with the poisonous one. The [Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Mushrooms] clearly states that there is no simple rule for determining the edibility of a mushroom; no rule like ``leaflets three, let it be'' for Poisonous Oak and Ivy.

So that's just the mushrooms in two families, and there's no definite rule to identify them as poisonous or not. To be honest, I think I'll make up a rule on the spot: "if it's growing wild, I won't eat it" :0

Re: I Survived the “Destroying Angel” (2006)

#147

Post by supernova87a » Fri, Oct 18, 2019, 10:28 AM UTC

The thing that was most frustrating for me to read was the 30 minute wait at the hospital to even be registered and diagnosed. (in the critical -- I assume -- first hours when the thing is making it's way into your bloodstream)

In a situation like that, I like to tell myself at least, I would loudly and firmly say, "I've been poisoned, time is of the essence, can you please stop what you're doing and help me, this is urgent!"

Re: I Survived the “Destroying Angel” (2006)

#148

Post by mda » Fri, Oct 18, 2019, 10:45 AM UTC

dmitrybrant wrote: post #81

I grew up in Russia, and like in many other Slavic cultures, mushroom foraging was a time-honored family affair. Some of my fondest memories are of picking mushrooms with my grandmother, who taught me all I know about identifying them. I still forage them all the time here in the States. I'm sorry, but it continues to baffle me how someone can mistake an Amanita for a Coprinus (or Agaricus). To my eyes they're as dif…

Agaricus could be confused with white amanitas if they miss the capsule or the annulus (capsule is the biggest danger sign). Or a parasol with a A. pantherina. TBH, even the distinct Coprinus comatus could be confused by a beginner to another ink cap that could be really nasty if eaten with alcohol. I guess mushroom hunting requires a lot of common sense, perception and experience, which a lot of people lacks to some degree.

Re: I Survived the “Destroying Angel” (2006)

#149

Post by jtbayly » Fri, Oct 18, 2019, 10:46 AM UTC

felixyz wrote: post #111

antisemiotic wrote: post #96

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think it really helps to be taught by someone who knows what they're doing. Where I live (Poland) it's common to have this knowledge passed down in families. I wouldn't dare to pick up anything based on a picture in a book.

There are apps that lead you through a series of questions (pores/gills, cap shape, etc) to try to identify a mushroom. App + book + internet for anything that is remotely uncertain is a pretty good avenue if you don't have anyone to teach you. And yes, it's crucial to inspect every single mushroom before eating it and discard anything that one isn't 100% sure about.

Have you ever used bird identification apps like that? I would never in a million years trust an app to tell me what is safe to eat. To learn? Yes. But not to eat.

Re: I Survived the “Destroying Angel” (2006)

#150

Post by collyw » Fri, Oct 18, 2019, 10:57 AM UTC

rkachowski wrote: post #117

The author seems to have an encyclopedic knowledge of the bible (referencing individual psalms by number), wears a cross around his neck to hospital, practises all kinds of eastern religious meditations (recommends "Awaken the Healing Light of the Tao" in the midst of describing himself in a diaper on a CAT scan machine). On top of this he works as a particle accelerator operator at cornell. And still eats some of th…

If I was as close to death as he was I think even I may become religious. Wouldn't have the encyclopedic knowledge of the bible though.

On the other hand I think that a Destroying Angel is one of the few mushrooms that I would know not to eat (my limited knowledge would also mean that I wouldn't actually eat any without positive identification). It's the second most poisonous after a Death Cap from what I know almost completely white.