|
Pages: [1] 2
|
 |
|
Author
|
Topic: Are Plants Intelligent? (Read 4819 times)
|
Neonlare
*Smell* controller
 Offline
Gender: 
Posts: 277
Nut Case for Star Control
|
I bring to you THIS question!
Are Plants Intelligent?
No, don't phone the Lunatic Asylum with the missing in-mate, this is a serious question.
Yes I am talking to you.
Now, reading through last months Focus Magazine (A Science and Technology based magazine, which goes through all the new discoveries and inventions and such, as far as I know it's only here in England) they have a special article on Plant Intelligence. It was a serious article, going through the theories that Plants might even be Sentient, as they adapt to the environment or change it to suite their needs.
I'll have to find the copy of the magazine I have, it's somewhere in my house, but it does pose a very strange question. There is a fair amount of information to back this theory up too, they conducted tests on plant species such as the Venus Fly Trap and found that they can recognise themselves as themselves, and tell that another plant is different to themselves even when it has grown from a clipping of the original one.
There's only a few creatures on the planet capable of passing this test currently; Hunams, Cetaceans, Orangutangs, Apes, Monkeys and Elephants.
Now, thinking about it further, it doesn't seem so far fetched. They've outlived us, our ancestors, and dinosaurs, they were one of the first biological beings on the planet and they are obviously very, very good at their job because they have thrived throughout most of their time on this planet.
But then there's the problem of a lack of "Brain" or any recognisable organs for Man to correlate on. This theory of Botanical Sentience has split a crack down the brains behind the lab coats, some believe in the theory, others dispose of it as poppy-cock.
I think that there might be a hint of truth to it, but until even more evidence comes out, then I'm ever so slightly sceptical...
But, what do YOU, the people of Star Control, think of this? Fact, or Fiction?
(Source of this came from this Magazine http://www.focusmag.co.uk/currentIssue.asp)
|
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
"would newton's law theory actually work if a Chmmr Avatar did a backwards pelvic thrust towards a planet and would this constitute an X=Y-0 in the part it ran straight into a Supox Blade and lasted long enough to survive?" - Elerium (as Valaggar)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Draxas
Enlightened
Offline
Gender:
Posts: 1044
|
Vegetarianism is murder! Eat more meat! 
|
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
|
|
|
|
|
Draxas
Enlightened
Offline
Gender:
Posts: 1044
|
Or it could be one of the silliest theories to ever come down the pipe since Spontaneous Generation. But I'll keep my eyes open for more info, and try not to dismiss it out of hand... yet.
|
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
|
|
|
Deus Siddis
Enlightened
Offline
Gender:
Posts: 1387
|
I don't think there is much evolutionary force working to promote such a thing in plants, since they basically just have chemical production/excretion and directional growth to worry about.
Perhaps if the planet was closer to the sun or something, advanced multicellular life would have evolved from Euglenoids.
|
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
|
|
|
|
|
RTyp06
*Smell* controller
Offline
Posts: 491
|
Any plant or animal that can communicate has a certain level of "intelligence" in my view. Machines can communicate and are not intelligent , their desigeners are. I believe communication at any level of sophistication nessictates an underlying intelligence of some sort. This could very well include the microcellular machines that manipulate DNA itself.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communicating
I found this particularly interesting:
Plant communication is observed (a) within the plant organism, i.e. within plant cells and between plant cells, (b) between plants of the same or related species and (c) between plants and non-plant organisms, especially in the rootzone. Plant roots communicate in parallel with rhizobia bacteria, with fungi and with insects in the soil. This parallel sign-mediated interactions which are governed by syntactic, pragmatic and semantic rules are possible because of the decentralized nervous system of plants.
As recent research shows 99% of intraorganismic plant communication processes are neuronal-like. Plants communicate also via volatiles in the case of herbivory attack behavior to warn neighboring plants. In parallel they produce other volatiles which attract parasites which attack these herbivores. In stress situations plants can overwrite the genetic code they inherited from their parents and revert to that of their grand- or great-grandparents.
Similar findings are cropping up in single celled bacteria as well.
|
|
|
|
« Last Edit: April 11, 2007, 01:45:32 am by RTyp06 »
|
Logged
|
|
|
|
|
|
Valaggar
Guest
|
This would rather imply that they have a limited intelligence, not "no intelligence at all". Some primitive invertebrates show similar behavior.
But plants react to their environment in ways that usually make sense. They
change growth direction and search out food. I think plants are aware,
if not exactly conscience. This is a debatable subject. Who knows if humans are conscious (self-aware, etc.) at all?!
I remember talking to a horticulturist about this several years ago. I'm
not sure if intelligent is the right word. I mean, what are the requirements for
intelligence? This is not something really well established, but for animal cognition,
-Attention
-Categorization
-Memory
-Tool and weapon use
-Reasoning and problem solving
-Language
-Consciousness
-Deception
-empathy and theory of mind
-Emotion
are treated as requirements - see Wikipedia.
Intelligence, generally, is the ability to comprehend the surroundings and react to them accordingly, learn from experience etc.; plants do not show such abilities.
|
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
|
|
|
Neonlare
*Smell* controller
Offline
Gender:
Posts: 277
Nut Case for Star Control
|
This is not something really well established, but for animal cognition, -Attention -Categorization -Memory -Tool and weapon use -Reasoning and problem solving -Language -Consciousness -Deception -empathy and theory of mind -Emotion are treated as requirements - see Wikipedia. Intelligence, generally, is the ability to comprehend the surroundings and react to them accordingly, learn from experience etc.; plants do not show such abilities.
Er, you sure about that? I'll name an example from the Focus Magazine I was talking about.
There is a certain species of plant that emits a gas to warn others (of the same species) that harmful animals were approaching (like locust), but there's another species which lives nearby these plants, which takes this information in, spying on them so that it can protect itself, I really have to find that article on the internet somewhere, it was really in depth (5 pages worth).
|
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
"would newton's law theory actually work if a Chmmr Avatar did a backwards pelvic thrust towards a planet and would this constitute an X=Y-0 in the part it ran straight into a Supox Blade and lasted long enough to survive?" - Elerium (as Valaggar)
|
|
|
Valaggar
Guest
|
These are preprogrammed reactions that will always be the same. Not a plethora of choices to be made by the plant.
|
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
|
|
|
Arne
Enlightened
Offline
Gender:
Posts: 520
Yak!
|
Semantics?
Intelligence is not a boolean, unless we apply some sort of arbitrary threshold. It also has several dimensions which needs to be taken into account.
I find it unlikely that plants would be spending their evo points on intelligence. Sure, they might get some sensory data like light, nutrition and so forth, and they can move a little... But I would guess they mostly encounter the same situations over an over again, so there's no need for them to think on their feet.
Random:
There's an insect (I don't know the english name) that can actually sting a tree leaf and inject some DNA that mutates the leaf so it grows a little house for the insect. Or so I've heard. You've probably seen a little round bulge on a leaf at some occasion, that would be it.
|
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Pages: [1] 2
|
|
|
|
|
.