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We say they're not conscious because we don't want people to think we're crazy and we would need some extraordinary evidence to claim that they are. That being

We say they're not conscious because we don't want people to think we're crazy and we would need some extraordinary evidence to claim that they are. That being said, plants do respond to variables in their environment such as moisture, temperature, light levels, availablility of certain chemicals. It's still not entirely clear how they are able to do these things. It's commonly assumed that plants don't "know" about the environment anymore than a mercury thermometer "knows" what temperature it is; the difference is that while we know why the mercury thermometer does what it does, we do not know why a certain seed will only germinate after it has been buried in a dark place for 2 weeks.

Dudeman112 5y ago
Biological systems are really wacky from an input -> magic - > output point of view. The levels of gene expression (as in, how much of that sweet transcription and translation is happening) on a certain sample may change based on the presence or not of external stimuli, and even the genetic expression may change based on other genes' expression (see gene regulatory networks). There is a lot of "intelligent" biological behaviour out there that is not conscious. Now if only we could come up with some decent definition for consciousness :/
silicon2401 5y ago
The way humans treat other life is one of the best examples of how egoistic the human race is, and how at the end of the day our only real value is ourselves. Eat your meats if you want, I'm not trying to evangelize veganism or anything, just pointing out that humans will believe what's convenient, and it's very convenient to believe that we're special. I would say instead that we overestimate how special we are and underestimate everything else. Humans and our consciousness are not that special, nor are the consciousness and sapience of other organisms that different or far from our own. Reading the Secret Life of Trees is intriguing and makes you wonder whether we assume that other organisms are not conscious just because their consciousness doesn't look like ours. Funnily similar to how some people assume other organisms are inferior just because of superficial differences like skin color or age. Here are some great examples. > 1. Like humans, trees give preferential treatment to family and friends. > 2. Trees communicate with one another through scent. > In addition to communicating chemical messages via scent, trees also use electrical signals to send messages to their compatriots via the fungi. This style of communication has been dubbed the “wood wide web” by many who’ve written about it, but the term was first used in the journal Nature. > Wohlleben writes that deciduous trees plan reproductive cycles a year in advance. They must choose whether to bloom or hold off a year or two for the best possible results. By delaying their bloom during some years, the trees deprive herbivores that would feast on acorns over the winter from some of their food source. This shortage cuts down the herbivore population, ensuring greater likelihood of survival the next year for the seeds. https://www.gardeningchannel.com/7-things-i-learned-from-the-hidden-life-of-trees-what-they-feel-how-they-communicate-discoveries-from-a-secret-world/ https://www.gardeningchannel.com/7-things-i-learned-from-the...

Dudeman112 5y ago

Biological systems are really wacky from an input -> magic - > output point of view. The levels of gene expression (as in, how much of that sweet transcription and translation is happening) on a certain sample may change based on the presence or not of external stimuli, and even the genetic expression may change based on other genes' expression (see gene regulatory networks). There is a lot of "intelligent" biological behaviour out there that is not conscious. Now if only we could come up with some decent definition for consciousness :/

silicon2401 5y ago

The way humans treat other life is one of the best examples of how egoistic the human race is, and how at the end of the day our only real value is ourselves. Eat your meats if you want, I'm not trying to evangelize veganism or anything, just pointing out that humans will believe what's convenient, and it's very convenient to believe that we're special. I would say instead that we overestimate how special we are and underestimate everything else. Humans and our consciousness are not that special, nor are the consciousness and sapience of other organisms that different or far from our own. Reading the Secret Life of Trees is intriguing and makes you wonder whether we assume that other organisms are not conscious just because their consciousness doesn't look like ours. Funnily similar to how some people assume other organisms are inferior just because of superficial differences like skin color or age. Here are some great examples. > 1. Like humans, trees give preferential treatment to family and friends. > 2. Trees communicate with one another through scent. > In addition to communicating chemical messages via scent, trees also use electrical signals to send messages to their compatriots via the fungi. This style of communication has been dubbed the “wood wide web” by many who’ve written about it, but the term was first used in the journal Nature. > Wohlleben writes that deciduous trees plan reproductive cycles a year in advance. They must choose whether to bloom or hold off a year or two for the best possible results. By delaying their bloom during some years, the trees deprive herbivores that would feast on acorns over the winter from some of their food source. This shortage cuts down the herbivore population, ensuring greater likelihood of survival the next year for the seeds. https://www.gardeningchannel.com/7-things-i-learned-from-the-hidden-life-of-trees-what-they-feel-how-they-communicate-discoveries-from-a-secret-world/ https://www.gardeningchannel.com/7-things-i-learned-from-the...