Interesting article from the New Yorker on recent research into plant intelligence. Jeremy Narby (author of Cosmic Serpent) wrote a follow-up book called Intelligence in Nature where he looked at these issues. But things have progressed a bit since he published that book, it looks like.
_http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2013/12/23/131223fa_fact_pollan?currentPage=all
(sott link: http://www.sott.net/article/271774-The-Intelligent-Plant-Scientists-debate-a-new-way-of-understanding-flora)
What's interesting is the extreme backlash against these ideas from most scientists. I think that's because these researchers are right: plants DO have intelligence. That is, they are information transformers. They sense information from their environment, integrate it according to their own purpose, and put out an informed response. (They can sense gravity, moisture, kin or competitors, prey, sound, light, chemical signals, and more.) They have some degree of intentionality. Of course, this is taboo for materialism, according to which there is no mind without a brain. Same with memory. How do plants 'remember' behavioral responses without a brain? What might this suggest about HUMAN consciousness and memory? I think there are some good questions raised in this article. (It ties into the Lierre Keith interview on SOTT Talk Radio.)
_http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2013/12/23/131223fa_fact_pollan?currentPage=all
(sott link: http://www.sott.net/article/271774-The-Intelligent-Plant-Scientists-debate-a-new-way-of-understanding-flora)
What's interesting is the extreme backlash against these ideas from most scientists. I think that's because these researchers are right: plants DO have intelligence. That is, they are information transformers. They sense information from their environment, integrate it according to their own purpose, and put out an informed response. (They can sense gravity, moisture, kin or competitors, prey, sound, light, chemical signals, and more.) They have some degree of intentionality. Of course, this is taboo for materialism, according to which there is no mind without a brain. Same with memory. How do plants 'remember' behavioral responses without a brain? What might this suggest about HUMAN consciousness and memory? I think there are some good questions raised in this article. (It ties into the Lierre Keith interview on SOTT Talk Radio.)
