The intelligence of plants, by Stefano Mancuso and Alessandra Viola
Edition Albin Michel, April 2018 - 240 Pages
Ao plants are intelligent?
Yes, and much more than we could imagine," Stefano Mancuso replies. A world-renowned scientist and founder of plant neurobiology, he is the first to have demonstrated that, like all living beings, plants discern shapes and colours, memorise data and communicate. They have a personality and develop a form of social life based on mutual aid and exchange.
A true ecological manifesto, this pioneering book, which has received international recognition, has been translated into 21 languages and has won numerous scientific awards. Stefano Mancuso takes us on an incredible journey to the heart of the plant world, helping us discover the surprising capacities of the plant world, which has been indispensable to man's deafness since its appearance on earth. A world which, by forming more than 99 % of biomass, is today indispensable for humanity. For if plants can live very well without us, we would not survive long without them!
At a time when alternative lifestyles are being sought, when natural resources are being depleted, we have everything to learn from the plant world on which the survival and future of mankind depend. Only our human arrogance and the particular temporal dimension of plant life, which is much slower than ours, prevent us from recognizing their extraordinary importance in the dynamics of life. They dominate the entire terrestrial environment and make up more than 99 % of its biomass. Humans and all other animals represent a negligible amount.
Stefano Mancuso is the founder of plant neurobiology. Professor at the University of Florence and member of the Accademia dei Georgofili, he directs the International Laboratory of Plant Neurobiology. In 2009, he was the first scientist to show action potentials, similar to those produced by our brain, spontaneously produced in the apex of the roots. The New Yorker included Stefano Mancuso among the world changers, and the daily La Repubblica among the twenty Italians "destined to change our lives".
