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raychan18's review
informative
inspiring
slow-paced
2.5
Some good info and sources but ultimately we don't have the science to back up these ideas - yet.
trippalli's review
informative
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
Fascinating and informative scientific book that covers many studies on plants that are amazing and interesting. Not a lot I feel I can do with the information in the book but it's good to learn!
claytell's review
3.0
It's not exactly what I waS expecting when I opened the book. There was a lot of plant physiology description, the resulting function and then a justification of how each point indicated that plants were intelligent (in a nutshell). I will have to think more about what I read.
andrea_author's review
5.0
Plants aren't the passive organisms we tend to think they are. They use chemical signals to communicate. They respond to defend themselves from insects and disease. But could they be sentient? In an entertaining and easy-to-read narrative style, this book reveals fascinating facts about plant biology that may change the way you look at plants forever.
Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.
Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.
cecirigby's review
2.0
This book is so disjointed, repetitive, and honestly just poorly written. Had to slog through to the end
toadfairy's review
informative
inspiring
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
4.0
*read the audiobook*
I went into this book mostly blind, and I was not expecting such a poetic and philosophical read. This was equal parts beautiful and informative, and really made me reconsider my view on plant life. Would highly recommend.
I went into this book mostly blind, and I was not expecting such a poetic and philosophical read. This was equal parts beautiful and informative, and really made me reconsider my view on plant life. Would highly recommend.
thijs_geluiden's review
3.0
As a plant scientist myself, I was super excited to start this book. I've long been intrigued by cognition in other species and Planta Sapiens seemed to offer insights into one of my favorite branches of the tree of life! So I got this at the end of last year and was very excited about it.
And its been a weird feeling, but the ups and downs of this book kinda cancel out. The author presents some really interesting ideas about plant cognition, the philosophy behind it, and the implications it has for technology and society. He attempts to break free from traditional views of science and also points out several developments in the scientific world that frankly go deeper than just plant sciences.
However, the lows were very low. Connecting only loosely connected ideas from animal cognition and AI to plant sciences seems to be some of the strongest arguments the author musters for the cause of the subjective experience for plants. He focuses on the outward projection of plants and their macro behaviour, without so much considering the minute changes in growth and development in plants. He tends towards leaning on only the movement of vines, rather than the roots which he himself has indicated to be the more intelligent part of the plant.
This also bridges nicely in what others have said too, where the book seems to jump from topic to topic, without regard for what has been said in the previous chapters, or little where it is present. Some ideas are mentioned and never really explored, others are posited without much explanation or evidence. Some chapters seem wholly out of place, disrupting the narrative in strange ways. And lastly, my greatest gripe with the book: the author warns against anthrophomorphizing plants. How projecting human values may lead to wrongful conclusions in science. But subsequently, he ignores every bit of plant science that has been done on the molecular mechanisms of plant life. Instead of harnessing the wealth of information that is known about plants (plants can discern up from down, detect each other, tell infection from beneficial microbe) and discards it wholly! He even goes so far as to ascribe a new function to known phytohormones, with no evidence whatsoever.
So what I hoped to be a beautiful integrative piece of literature about the marvelous systems that plants have evolved and how those align to form cognition, essentially was a philosophy book with some interesting ideas. Therefore, 2.5 stars
And its been a weird feeling, but the ups and downs of this book kinda cancel out. The author presents some really interesting ideas about plant cognition, the philosophy behind it, and the implications it has for technology and society. He attempts to break free from traditional views of science and also points out several developments in the scientific world that frankly go deeper than just plant sciences.
However, the lows were very low. Connecting only loosely connected ideas from animal cognition and AI to plant sciences seems to be some of the strongest arguments the author musters for the cause of the subjective experience for plants. He focuses on the outward projection of plants and their macro behaviour, without so much considering the minute changes in growth and development in plants. He tends towards leaning on only the movement of vines, rather than the roots which he himself has indicated to be the more intelligent part of the plant.
This also bridges nicely in what others have said too, where the book seems to jump from topic to topic, without regard for what has been said in the previous chapters, or little where it is present. Some ideas are mentioned and never really explored, others are posited without much explanation or evidence. Some chapters seem wholly out of place, disrupting the narrative in strange ways. And lastly, my greatest gripe with the book: the author warns against anthrophomorphizing plants. How projecting human values may lead to wrongful conclusions in science. But subsequently, he ignores every bit of plant science that has been done on the molecular mechanisms of plant life. Instead of harnessing the wealth of information that is known about plants (plants can discern up from down, detect each other, tell infection from beneficial microbe) and discards it wholly! He even goes so far as to ascribe a new function to known phytohormones, with no evidence whatsoever.
So what I hoped to be a beautiful integrative piece of literature about the marvelous systems that plants have evolved and how those align to form cognition, essentially was a philosophy book with some interesting ideas. Therefore, 2.5 stars