Brilliant Green - The Surprising History and Science of Plant Intelligence

Stefano Mancuso

Island Press

2015

192 páginas

6h 24m

ISBN-13: 9781610916035

Are plants intelligent? Can they solve problems, communicate, and navigate their surroundings? Or are they passive, incapable of independent action or social behavior? Philosophers and scientists have pondered these questions since ancient Greece, most often concluding that plants are unthinking and inert: they are too silent, too sedentary -- just too different from us. Yet discoveries over the past fifty years have challenged these ideas, shedding new light on the extraordinary capabilities and complex interior lives of plants.

In Brilliant Green, Stefano Mancuso, a leading scientist and founder of the field of plant neurobiology, presents a new paradigm in our understanding of the vegetal world. Combining a historical perspective with the latest in plant science, Mancuso argues that, due to cultural prejudices and human arrogance, we continue to underestimate plants. In fact, they process information, sleep, remember, and signal to one another -- showing that, far from passive machines, plants are intelligent and aware. Through a survey of plant capabilities from sight and touch to communication, Mancuso challenges our notion of intelligence, presenting a vision of plant life that is more sophisticated than most imagine.

Plants have much to teach us, from network building to innovations in robotics and man-made materials -- but only if we understand more about how they live. Part botany lesson, part manifesto, Brilliant Green is an engaging and passionate examination of the inner workings of the plant kingdom.

Resenhas (1)

4 (Muito bom)

Stefano Mancuso faz pelas plantas o que Frans de Waal faz pelos primatas não-humanos: nos faz ver o mundo de sua perspectiva, os colocando como seres capazes de sentir, ter relacionamentos, proteger a prole e até dormir. O resultado é uma defesa da importância e do fascínio pelas plantas.

Eu não concordo com Mancuso em tudo; a sua maneira de ver as plantas como inteligentes e até sencientes quase torna esses termos sem significado, uma vez que qualquer organismo adaptado ao seu ambiente pode ser enquadrado na definição (ou seja, todos os organismos vivos hoje). Mas mesmo assim, considero a leitura e a mudança de perspectiva um exercício importante, especialmente para diminuir a distância entre nós e organismos dos quais a nossa vida depende radicalmente. Portanto, Mancuso é leitura obrigatória para quem se interessa por biologia vegetal.