Synopses & Reviews
Review
andquot;Mancuso advocates for a second Copernican revolution, of sorts. Just as medieval people had to concede that the stars and planets donand#39;t orbit Earth, we must accept that the living world doesnand#39;t revolve around us.andquot;
Review
andquot;[Brilliant Green] is, like the best science, the product of a powerful imagination, one with the ability to see the world from a completely fresh and unencumbered point of viewandmdash;and to communicate that perspective to the rest of us. So put aside for a couple of hours your accustomed anthropocentrism, and step into this other, richer and more wonderful world. You wonandrsquo;t regret it, and you wonandrsquo;t emerge from it ever quite the same again.andquot;
Review
andquot;Mancuso may be provocative, but heandrsquo;s not alone and he hasnandrsquo;t been for a long time.andquot;
Review
andquot;A brilliant fusion of historical and modern research, Brilliant Green is a quirky little book can be quickly read, yet it is captivating and eye-opening, and will make you stop and think. The authorsandrsquo; fervor and wit jolt the reader out apathetic anthropocentrism and we awaken in the fascinating world of plant intelligence.andquot;
Review
andquot;Brilliant Green.. lays out the case for approaching plants as fellow intelligent life-forms... key insights to fields across the sciences, from botany to robotics.andquot;
Review
andquot;A short primer/manifesto on the history and science of the [plant intelligence movement].andquot;
Review
andquot;Mancuso and Viola blaze a trail of intrigue, to study the seemingly inaccessible, to fathom the unfathomable, to celebrate the essence of life on Earth....This book is nothing short of summer reading that broadens the soul.andquot;
Review
andquot;...Mancuso, a leading scientist and founder of the field of plant neurobiology, presents a new paradigm in our understanding of the vegetal world.andquot;
Review
andquot;[Brilliant Green] is an interesting book about plant intelligence with amazing examples of how plants routinely interact with their surroundings.andquot;
Review
andquot;...an engaging and passionate examination of the inner workings of the plant kingdomandquot;
Review
andquot;...a compelling and fascinating case not only for plant sentience and smarts, but also plant rights.andquot;
Synopsis
Are plants intelligent? Can they solve problems, communicate, and navigate their surroundings? For centuries, philosophers and scientists have argued that plants are unthinking and inertand#151;yet discoveries over the past fifty years have challenged this idea, shedding new light on the complex interior lives of plants.
In Brilliant Green, leading scientist Stefano Mancuso presents a new paradigm in our understanding of the vegetal world. He argues that plants process information, sleep, remember, and signal to one anotherand#151;showing that, far from passive machines, plants are intelligent and aware. Part botany lesson, part manifesto, Brilliant Green is an engaging and passionate examination of the inner workings of the plant kingdom.
Financial support for the translation of this book has been provided by SEPS: Segretariato Europeo Per Le Pubblicazioni Scientifiche.
Synopsis
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.
Financial support for the translation of this book has been provided by SEPS: Segretariato Europeo Per Le Pubblicazioni Scientifiche.
About the Author
Stefano Mancuso is the Director of the International Laboratory of Plant Neurobiology (LINV) in Florence, Italy, a founder of the International Society for Plant Signaling and Behavior, and a professor at the University of Florence. His most recent project is the Jellyfish Barge, a modular floating greenhouse which grows plants through solar-powered seawater desalination, featured in the 2015 Universal Expo in Milan. Mancusoand#8217;s books and papers have been published in numerous international magazines and journals, and La Repubblica newspaper has listed him among the twenty people who will change our lives.
Alessandra Viola is a scientific journalist, writer of documentaries, and a television scriptwriter. In 2011, she directed the Genoa Science Festival.
Table of Contents
Introduction
Chapter 1. The Root of the Problemand#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; and#160;
-Plants and the Great Monotheistic Religions
-The Plant World According to Writers and Philosophers
-The Fathers of Botany: Linnaeus and Darwin
-Humans Are the Most Evolved Species on the Planet. Or Are They?
-Plants: Always Second Fiddle
Chapter 2. The Plant: A Stranger
-Euglena Versus Paramecium, an Even Match
-Five Hundred Million Years Ago
-A Plant Is a Colony
-A Problem of Tempos
-Life Without Plants: Impossible
Chapter 3. The Senses of Plants
-Sight
-Smell
-Taste
-Touch
-Hearing
- . . . And Fifteen Other Senses!
Chapter 4. Communication in Plants
-Communication Inside the Plant
-Communication Between Plants
-Communication Between Plants and Animals
Chapter 5. Plant Intelligence
-Can We Speak of "Plant Intelligence"?
-What Can We Learn from Artificial Intelligence?
-Intelligence Unites, It Doesnand#8217;t Divide
-Charles Darwin and the Intelligence of Plants
-The Intelligent Plant
-Each Plant Is a Living Internet Network
-A Swarm of Roots
-The Aliens Are Here (Plant Intelligence As a Model for Understanding Extraterrestrial Intelligence)
-Plants' Sleep