Book Review (Rucksack): What A Plant Knows

What A Plant Knows

Written by Daniel Chamovitz in 2012

The Raccoon: What A Plant Knows presents a comprehensive body of research on plant behavior, intending to prove that plants actively perceive and respond to their environment.

UNMASKED: The international team of researchers known as The Society of Plant Signaling and Behavior was originally founded as The Society of Plant Neurobiology.  Heavy criticism among the scientific community led the group to change their title in 2009, as many scholars found it ridiculous that the members drew parallels between plant and human cognition.  Whether we can ascribe attributes such as sight or memory to beings other than animals remains a point of contention among scientists, which left Chamovitz with a very difficult line to walk while writing What A Plant Knows.  Ultimately, the author failed in his effort to balance the opposing viewpoints.

Chamovitz begins each chapter with a grand claim, such as, “Think about this: plants see you,” only to spend the rest of the chapter backtracking and explaining why such a strong word should not be used in the context of these organisms.  All of this occurs after the disclaimer, “We can’t equate human behavior to the ways in which plants function in their worlds, but I ask that you humor me…” which I believe is enough for Chamovitz to establish that he does not believe plants are as intelligent or soulful as humans.  There is a constant discrepancy in the book’s tone that undermines its main argument.

Despite Chamovitz’s “insecurities” about satisfying everyone with an opinion about plant intelligence, he is one of the few scientists gifted with the ability to explain layered research and complex experiments to any audience.  What A Plant Knows teaches without lecturing and at times even proves to be enjoyable to read.

Strengths:

• The book is thoughtful in its organization, and the subheadings within chapters make the work easy to comprehend.
• Periodic images and diagrams greatly help the reader to visualize experiments.
• Charles Darwin surprisingly makes an appearance as a pioneer of the plant sensing field.

Weaknesses:

• Certain sections resemble roller coasters whose drops are not thrilling enough to warrant the long climb preceding them.
• A reader passionately interested in this subject will find that there are many areas of plant behavioral research left out.

Rating: 18/20 Venus Flytrap hairs

Ideal Setting: Read this when the world seems a little dull.  So much of our world remains to be discovered.