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A review by shanaqui
The Light Eaters by Zoë Schlanger
informative
reflective
slow-paced
2.0
Zoë Schlanger's The Light Eaters very much came across as a science writer's book rather than a scientist's, larded heavily with personal observations of feeling very inspired by plants, and not very discriminating in the choice of sources -- or at least, in how to describe them. When a study has failed replication, maybe say that right away before you spend a whole chapter discussing it, for instance.
I think it was mostly that experience, early in the book, that made me wary of the whole thing. There are some fascinating studies mentioned, and the citations are not numbered but still fairly clear and easy to follow-up: the studies about the effects of (some) anaesthetics on plants were genuinely fascinating, and didn't seem to be too much over-hyped, for instance.
I think in the end, it's not that I dislike the conclusions Schlanger's reaching for: the effort to recognise that plants have much more agency and intelligence than we attribute to them, and that humans are so animal-centric, we have way too much difficulty grasping that there are other ways to be, among us all the time, and lives we impact that we don't even think about. She highlights genuinely interesting studies and views. It's just... when something fails replication, that's not trivial. It happens even when something is true, because the conditions aren't exactly replicated, but it means something, and should never be handwaved away.
So I guess my thoughts on this one are "read with care", but not an anti-recommendation.
I think it was mostly that experience, early in the book, that made me wary of the whole thing. There are some fascinating studies mentioned, and the citations are not numbered but still fairly clear and easy to follow-up: the studies about the effects of (some) anaesthetics on plants were genuinely fascinating, and didn't seem to be too much over-hyped, for instance.
I think in the end, it's not that I dislike the conclusions Schlanger's reaching for: the effort to recognise that plants have much more agency and intelligence than we attribute to them, and that humans are so animal-centric, we have way too much difficulty grasping that there are other ways to be, among us all the time, and lives we impact that we don't even think about. She highlights genuinely interesting studies and views. It's just... when something fails replication, that's not trivial. It happens even when something is true, because the conditions aren't exactly replicated, but it means something, and should never be handwaved away.
So I guess my thoughts on this one are "read with care", but not an anti-recommendation.