Summary Of The Intelligent Plant

Hypothetical Method in Action: “The Intelligent Plant” The article, “The Intelligent Plant” by Michael Pollan, explores the intricate ways of plants and the human understanding of how they function without a neurological brain. It navigates the questions of whether plants can think, learn, be conscious, or feel pain, citing several studies and experiments conducted to prove these concepts. One mentioned study conducted by Monica Gagliano focused on the Mimosa pudica, a plant species with observable reaction speeds, to test the ability of plants to learn. Pollan used this and other experiments to prove plants exhibit intelligent behavior.
Analyzing this article using the hypothetical method, it’s important to start with pinpointing the initial

The mimosa is a prime subject for this testing as its reflex behavior is observably quick enough to document the reactions; upon contact, the fernlike leaves of the plant recoil from the touch. This behavior is likely used as a defense mechanism to scare off insects but in the study, it was used to measure the plants’ responses and help to conclude if they were adapting to the conditions. The experiment Gagliano conducted tested nearly five dozen mimosa plants’ reactions to being dropped a small distance every few seconds. Gagliano noted how the organisms initially reacted by folding up but after only a few drops, the leaves began to reopen. The ecologist took this as evidence that the mimosa plants recognized that there was no harm in this particular movement and “had concluded that the stimulus could be safely ignored” (Pollan). Furthermore, the Australian scientist went on to retest her plants over the course of twenty eight days, to which they remembered it was safe to ignore the

Notable plant scientist, Fred Sack, commented that plants cannot be capable of learning because “the word ‘learning’ should be reserved for animals” while this experiment portrayed their adaptation (Pollan). Because of the criticism about the language in Gagliano’s paper, the hypothesis seems to remain unconfirmed. It appears to me no premise substantially disconfirms the conclusion of “Animal-Like Learning in Mimosa Pudica”, only the disagreement among professionals over what constitutes learning, if anything, in sans-brain life forms.
Internally coherent, the main flaw of “Animal-Like Learning in Mimosa Pudica” is in the language used to describe the phenomenons witnessed in the experiment, which would compromise it’s external consistency. Gagliano’s research and idea appears fruitful in many aspects. Applying the idea of learning in plant systems certainly makes for fascinating future ideas and research. The mimosa pudica in itself is enough to stimulate new testing with its unique capabilities and