Light Eaters
by Zoë Schlanger · first published 2024
63% recommend38% neutral
Why HN recommends it
Covers recent plant science on sensing, signaling and behavior, including whether plants show something like intelligence or consciousness; a thought-provoking, well-written read for general readers curious about plants.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
It takes tremendous biological creativity to be a plant. To survive and thrive while rooted in a single spot, plants have adapted ingenious methods of survival. In recent years, scientists have learned about their ability to communicate, recognize their kin and behave socially, hear sounds, morph their bodies to blend into their surroundings, store useful memories that inform their life cycle, and trick animals into behaving to their benefit, to name just a few remarkable talents. The Light Eaters is a deep immersion into the drama of green life and the complexity of this wild and awe-inspi
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…but never see the people in it" Other highlights: The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt; re-read Thinking in Systems by Daniella Meadows; re-read Wherever You Go There You Are by Jon Kabat Zinn; The light eaters by Zoe Schlanger; I don't want to talk about it, by Terrence Real.
on “Ask HN: What were the best books you read this year?” ↗If you find this interesting, I strongly recommend the book _The Light Eaters_ by Zoë Schlanger [0]. She discusses this finding as well as other sense-abilities of plants. Recent science has found pretty amazing things. If I recall correctly: flowers are often shaped like dish…
on “Plants hear their pollinators, and produce sweet nectar in response” ↗This is true. Highly recommend Zoe Schlanger's "The Light Eaters" on this topic. But not a good argument for car sentience.
on “Tesla profits drop 43% in Q3” ↗The author’s book The Light Eaters on plant intelligence is also well worth a read! Finished it a couple months ago and it was one of my favorite books this year.
on “America's Coming Smoke Epidemic” ↗You might enjoy The Light Eaters, it covers latest studies on plants for consciousness. I’m still very skeptical after reading it, I.e. how to differentiate between automaton like behavior derived from genetic programming and consciousness…
on “New study shows plants and animals emit a visible light that expires at death” ↗…delineate, just as life is (debates on whether a virus is alive, etc.) but the border cases will be the exceptions. Current research on whether plants are sentient supports this, IMO. (See e.g. "The Light Eaters" and Michael Pollan's new book on consciousness, "A World Appears".) Meditation adds to this sense. We do not control our thoughts; in fact the "we" (i.e. the self) can be seen to be an illusion. Buddhist…
on “Measuring progress toward AGI: A cognitive framework” ↗> We already know consciousness can arise from neuronal activity. Do you think no other substrate could give rise to consciousness? Conjecture of another is reported by “Light Eaters” [0] which I’ve just started. Of course, materially sufficient is less than a slam dunk given plausible theory that many mental states are learned not innate [1] and consciousness is relatively recent…
on “Artificial consciousness: a perspective from the free energy principle” ↗If you're interested in the subject, check out "The Light Eaters" by Zoe Schlanger. I found it stretched my credulity a little bit too much, but there's certainly some interesting research out there.
on “Plants monitor the integrity of their barrier by sensing gas diffusion” ↗I’m reading “The Light Eaters” which takes a broad look at plant behavior. It would not surprise me if the premise is inverted, that plants selected for electrostatically charged butterflies by selectively changing nectar availability.
on “Butterflies accumulate static electricity to attract pollen without contact” ↗The zombie qualifier might not be needed. The recent book "The Light Eaters" delves slightly into the theoretical frameworks that reverse the causality of agriculture. What does it mean for ants to "learn?" Did the fungi "teach" them? How did the fungi "learn" to "teach?" https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/196774338-the-light-eate...
on “Ants learned to farm fungi during a mass extinction” ↗A recent book, the Light Eaters, summarises much of the recent research into plant behaviour like this, including how maligned and misreported it has been over the past 50 years or so.
on “Insects rely on sounds made by vegetation to guide reproduction” ↗