62 replies to this topic

[Mnemonix]

Armchair Educated, on 12 December 2012 - 11:58 AM, said:

i feel bad for the cabbages, they can warn each other but do nothing about the threat. i wonder what vegetarians think about this

It's all fair game.

[Cassea]

Would not this suggest consciousness?  This doesn't make any sense.

[Abramelin]

Cassea, on 12 December 2012 - 07:19 PM, said:

Would not this suggest consciousness?  This doesn't make any sense.

Some would reason that way, yes:

http://io9.com/59011...-than-you-think

1. Plants communicate with insects
2. Plants have memories
3. Plants create communication networks
4. Plants grow differently in response to sound
5. Plants measure time
6. Plants know up from dow
7. Plants know who is family and who isn't
8. Plants warn each other about approaching enemies
9. Plants use camouflage
10. Plants are escape artists

Others would say it is all chemically/physically based, and without 'intenion' or 'sentience'.

[Cassea]

How does a plant have a memory without a brain?

[Abramelin]

Cassea, on 12 December 2012 - 08:21 PM, said:

How does a plant have a memory without a brain?

You should click the links....



2. Plants have memories
Certainly plants don't "remember" the way humans do, but a group of researchers discovered that plants learn to associate various wavelengths of light with different kinds of danger.

http://io9.com/59011...-than-you-think

Plants can think and perform computations, say scientists

Plants can think and perform computations, say scientists Plants are able to assess their environment by analyzing light, and are able to "remember" light they have experienced recently. By analyzing chemical reactions in leaves, scientists have come to appreciate that plants possess a kind of intelligence.

BBC News has a terrific story on a group of researchers who believe they have found the plant equivalent of the nervous system, which functions by translating light into chemical reactions - and remembering those reactions over time. Plants need to analyze and remember different wavelengths of light in order to prepare for seasonal variations in pests and pathogens in the air.


According to BBC News:

What was even more peculiar, Professor [Stanislaw] Karpinski said, was that the plants' responses changed depending on the colour of the light that was being shone on them. There were characteristic [changes] for red, blue and white light," he explained.

He suspected that the plants might use the information encoded in the light to stimulate protective chemical reactions. He and his colleagues examined this more closely by looking at the effect of different colours of light on the plants' immunity to disease.

"When we shone the light for on the plant for one hour and then infected it [with a virus or with bacteria] 24 hours after that light exposure, it resisted the infection," he explained.

"But when we infected the plant before shining the light, it could not build up resistance.

"[So the plant] has a specific memory for the light which builds its immunity against pathogens, and it can adjust to varying light conditions."

He said that plants used information encrypted in the light to immunise themselves against seasonal pathogens.

"Every day or week of the season has… a characteristic light quality," Professor Karpinski explained. "So the plants perform a sort of biological light computation, using information contained in the light to immunise themselves against diseases that are prevalent during that season."

Professor Christine Foyer, a plant scientist from the University of Leeds, said the study "took our thinking one step forward".

"Plants have to survive stresses, such as drought or cold, and live through it and keep growing," she told BBC News.

"This requires an appraisal of the situation and an appropriate response - that's a form of intelligence."


http://io9.com/55873...-say-scientists




Btw, a computer doesn't have a brain either, and no nervous system, but it does have 'memory'.

[Abramelin]

A general definition of intelligence is: "the capability to adapt to changing circumstances."

Memory is defined as the faculty by which sense impressions and information are retained and subsequently recalled, either in a neuronal circuit or in some other medium.

[Cassea]

I always wondered why trees will turn their leaves over before a storm.

http://www.farmersal...redict-a-storm/

but it seems like it is only a physical reaction to changes in humidity.  Calling it a memory is a bit deceptive.

[lightly]

hmmm !  communication sort of proves awareness of some sort?  I've always thought plants are aware.. somehow, maybe all basic awareness is astonishingly similar to our own?

[Abramelin]

Cassea, on 12 December 2012 - 09:14 PM, said:

I always wondered why trees will turn their leaves over before a storm.

http://www.farmersal...redict-a-storm/

but it seems like it is only a physical reaction to changes in humidity.  Calling it a memory is a bit deceptive.

What is 'memory' according to you?

To give you a hint: your immune system has a memory too.

.

Edited by Abramelin, 13 December 2012 - 04:40 AM.

[Abramelin]

Scientists Uncover The 'Invisible' Language of Plants
By Meera Dolasia on February 6, 2012

Many avid gardeners believe that 'talking' to their plants helps them thrive -Turns out they may not be cuckoo after all. If scientists from the University of Exeter are to believed, plants may be constantly communicating with each other, via a secret 'invisible' language.

For their experiment, the scientists picked a cabbage plant that is known to emit a gas when its surface is cut or pierced. In order to get video evidence of the communication, they modified the cabbage gene by adding the protein - luciferase, which is what makes fireflies glow in the dark.

When the modified cabbage plant was in full bloom, they cut a leaf off with a scissor - Almost immediately, thanks to the luciferase they could see the plant emitting 'methyl jasmonate'.

While this was a known fact, what was surprising was the fact that the minute this gas began to float out, the nearby cabbage plants seemed to sense some kind of danger and started to emit a gas that they normally reserve to keep predators like caterpillars away.

What the scientists are not sure is whether the plants are trying to warn the other leaves about the danger or the neighboring plants - Something that will require further research. However, the team that was led professor Nick Smirnoff, is quite excited by the findings because this is the first time it has been visually proved that plants do not live a passive life, but actually move, sense and even communicate with each other.

However, before you get all concerned, they are 100% sure that plants do not feel the pain when they are cut, since they do not have nerves - So go ahead and bite on that juicy carrot!

http://www.dogonews....f-plants/page/2


And I'd like to add: I was one of those who attached leaves of plants to a GSR (Galvanic Skin Response) apparatus, back in the 80s of the past century. This thing - aka 'lie detector - gave me some stunning results.

[Abramelin]

From my former post:

"However, before you get all concerned, they are 100% sure that plants do not feel the pain when they are cut, since they do not have nerves - So go ahead and bite on that juicy carrot!"

What is pain, exactly? It is the way your body warns you of damage being done to your body. It's a signal you cannot ignore.

I think plants can also sense that damage is being done to them, but their 'alarm bells' are of  different kind.

[Oniomancer]

Abramelin, on 13 December 2012 - 08:55 PM, said:

From my former post:

"However, before you get all concerned, they are 100% sure that plants do not feel the pain when they are cut, since they do not have nerves - So go ahead and bite on that juicy carrot!"

What is pain, exactly? It is the way your body warns you of damage being done to your body. It's a signal you cannot ignore.

I think plants can also sense that damage is being done to them, but their 'alarm bells' are of  different kind.

[Sir Wearer of Hats]

TRIFFIDS!!!

[EllJay]

Wearer of Hats, on 15 December 2012 - 08:41 AM, said:

TRIFFIDS!!!

Yeah, the Triffids used clicking in their communication. We just have to disregard the fact that they were made up.


http://www.youtube.c...Qxt40lA#t=4714s

[Abramelin]

Oniomancer, on 15 December 2012 - 05:49 AM, said:

Lol, that video will be avoided by vegetarians like the plague !!

But this 'vegetable' dseerves to be cut up: