Trees do not begin by towering, nor do they aim to. They start humble, spreading roots beneath soft soil, reaching with leaves to taste the light between the shadows. They persist unhurried, working together with those around them. If they do grow tall, it's only by surviving.
‘Intellectual titan’, ‘towering intellect’, all those collocations that link learning and cognitive prowess with height and domination. But we really need thinking that can seep below closed doors and between cracks, slow and supple, impossible to resist.
That's just one of their methods of communication, too. They also communicate with scents, can make and sense sounds, and can recognise their relatives.
