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The light eaters : how the unseen world of plant intelligence offers a new understanding of life on Earth / Zoë Schlanger.

Schlanger, Zoë, (author.).

Summary:
"It takes tremendous biological creativity to be a plant. To survive and thrive while rooted in a single spot, plants have adapted ingenious methods of survival. In recent years, scientists have learned about their ability to communicate, recognize their kin and behave socially, hear sounds, morph their bodies to blend into their surroundings, store useful memories that inform their life cycle, and trick animals into behaving to their benefit, to name just a few remarkable talents.  The Light Eaters is a deep immersion into the drama of green life and the complexity of this wild and awe-inspiring world that challenges our very understanding of agency, consciousness, and intelligence. In looking closely, we see that plants, rather than imitate human intelligence, have perhaps formed a parallel system. What is intelligent life if not a vine that grows leaves to blend into the shrub on which it climbs, a flower that shapes its bloom to fit exactly the beak of its pollinator, a pea seedling that can hear water flowing and make its way toward it? Zoë Schlanger takes us across the globe, digging into her own memories and into the soil with the scientists who have spent their waking days studying these amazing entities up close.  What can we learn about life on Earth from the living things that thrive, adapt, consume, and accommodate simultaneously? More important, what do we owe these life forms once we come to understand their rich and varied abilities? Examining the latest epiphanies in botanical research, Schlanger spotlights the intellectual struggles among the researchers conceiving a wholly new view of their subject, offering a glimpse of a field in turmoil as plant scientists debate the tenets of ongoing discoveries and how they influence our understanding of what a plant is.  We need plants to survive. But what do they need us for—if at all? An eye-opening and informative look at the ecosystem we live in, this book challenges us to rethink the role of plants—and our own place—in the natural world.-- Provided by publisher.

Record details

  • ISBN: 9780063073852
  • ISBN: 0063073854
  • Physical Description: 290 pages ; 24 cm
  • Edition: First edition.
  • Publisher: New York, NY : Harper, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers, [2024]

Content descriptions

Bibliography, etc. Note:
Includes bibliographical references (pages 265-280) and index.
Formatted Contents Note:
Prologue -- The question of plant consciousness -- How science changes its mind -- The communicating plant -- Alive to feeling -- An ear to the ground -- The (plant) body keeps the score -- Conversations with animals -- The scientist and the chameleon vine -- The social life of plants -- Inheritance -- Plant futures.
Subject: Plant physiology.
Plants > Psychological aspects.
Consciousness > Philosophy.

Available copies

  • 2 of 4 copies available at York County Libraries.

Holds

  • 0 current holds with 4 total copies.
Show Only Available Copies
Location Call Number / Copy Notes Barcode Shelving Location Status Due Date
Dillsburg Area Public Library Adults 571.2 SCH Nonfiction (Text) 34001001462371 Adult Area Available -
Glatfelter Memorial Library Adults 571.2 SCH Nonfiction (Text) 34216001026931 Adult Area New Available -
Martin Library Adults 571.2 SCH Science Technology (Text) 33454006014377 Atrium In Repair -
Paul Smith Library of Southern York County Adults 571.2 SCH Nonfiction (Text) 34318001249552 Adult Area New Checked Out 11/20/2024


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