KhizooologyThe Light Eaters
Wonder and careful evidence can coexist.
Big Idea
Schlanger reports on plant capabilities and debates about the language used to describe intelligence beyond animals.
Plant responses
Plants react to their surroundings through complex biological processes.
Communication
Signals between organisms challenge a picture of plants as entirely passive.
Scientific change
New questions can require researchers to reconsider old assumptions.
Contested terms
Intelligence and consciousness carry definitions that scientists do not all share.
Evidence discipline
A striking response is not automatically proof of subjective experience.
Notooo Take
Ask what an experiment demonstrates before accepting its most dramatic interpretation.
One Thing to Keep
Wonder and careful evidence can coexist.